Friend or Foe
by evefaxton
Summary: Why the hell should she care? It's not her war anymore. A Sakura/Karin, multichap romance, some manga spoilers. Rated M for a reason.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Naruto nor do I make any profit from it

AN: Sakura/Karin My first un-het pairing inspired by the latest manga chapters when Sakura is dealing with White Zetsu. This little plotbunny had been brewing in my head for a couple weeks. Thought I might follow it and see where this goes.

Friends Or Foe

Three shadows ran across the long bridge leading to the Konoha Strict Correctional Facility that sat in the middle of a lake filled with boiling lava. The air stank of sulfur and ash filled the sky, filtering the sunlight into tiny pinpoints that barely illuminated the dark prison. It was a little spot of hell inside Konoha's usually lush and beautiful borders. It held the shinobi deemed too dangerous for polite society.

"I don't know what Morino-san is thinking," grumbled Udon as they ran at top speed over the hot pavement, "She should stay here and rot." They reached the front and waited for the jailers to open the door.

Moegi covered one hand over her mouth and coughed from the air heavy with smoke, "Tsunade-sama left him in charge of the village. If she trusts his decisions, then so do I. I'm sure he has his reasons. We're in the middle of a war. She is a medic and we need healers."

"But she's not even a Leaf. We can't trust her to help us. Open the door, damn it. We're dying here." Wiping his eyes from the dust, Udon adjusted his glasses to look up at the guard house.

Konohamaru lifted his arm up and waved the scroll in the air, "Heeey! It doesn't take that long to get confirmation from the Tower. Get your butts moving. We're on a schedule here!"

"Keep your panties on, kid! This thing takes a while to get going," shouted Gennai from above and the huge door crept open for the three genin.

Another guard, Inaho, was already at the main level to greet Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon, "Morino Ibiki sent us a messenger pigeon just a minute before you guys arrived. Karin is in the infirmary at the moment. I'll lead you there." The young genin followed Inaho through the maze of the prison grounds until she walked down an empty hall and opened a random door.

"There she is," She pointed to the redheaded woman across the room and examining a fellow prisoner's smashed nose.

Karin perused over the tray of scant tools then chose a set of thin pincers. A pass over the metal by a hand glowing with disinfecting chakra and Karin used the tool to pick out pieces of rock chips that were embedded in the man's cheek from a yard fight. He winced to feel the pincers dig into the face, earning him a short slap to the side of his head.

"Be still," she demanded and he stopped fidgeting to avoid another cuff to the ear.

"Karin," said Konohamaru and waited for the woman to look away from her work, "I have orders to enlist your skills as a medic for the war effort."

She snorted and went back to cleaning the prisoner's face, "Fuck off." Two of the three young genin were shocked to hear her out right deny any chance of freedom, but Konohamaru merely huffed.

"But the Hokage is willing to give leniency," started Moegi, but Konohamaru lifted an arm to interrupt her.

He stepped closer toward the kunoichi, "You don't have a choice. The order has already been made. You can come peacefully and help heal our troops, perhaps get your sentence cut in half. Or we can knock you out, carry you to the battlefield, and shackle you to the hospital tent so you can disinfect surgery towels."

She narrowed her red eyes and drawled, "You're a real sweet-talker, kid. The Five Hidden Villages must be hard up for medics if they have to threaten me to help. Fine then. At least I'll get some fresh air that isn't eau de fire and brimstone." Karin tossed the pincers to the prisoner, who was quick to catch it, and she pointed to the bathroom. "There's a mirror inside. Careful what you touch in there. The Legendary Stupid Brothers had a nasty case of the runs earlier. So don't get yourself infected with some nasty shit." They left the man in the infirmary alone and standing bewildered on what do next.

Two guards waited in the hall and led the group through the prison. Curious convicts watched the procession from behind their cell bars and wondered who was luckier. Themselves who were stuck in the correctional facility, but far from the crazy war with the Akatsuki or the kunoichi breathing clean air, but heading for the front lines.

Udon walked behind Karin and asked, "Do you have any personal affects you wanted to get from storage?"

Karin stopped walking and looked over her shoulder at the prison. There was her old uniform, a drab lavender lab tunic and black shorts courtesy of Orochimaru. Then there was the damned Akatsuki cloak that painted anyone who wore it a walking black and red bullseye. None of those crappy clothes actually she chose for herself. She only accepted them as part of her identity of a missing nin. Karin glanced down at her current attire. Her prison shirt and slacks would work fine until she could find something more suitable for the situation.

"No, nothing at all," She turned back to the bridge and continued ahead.

When the arrived at the meeting place, Konohamaru perused over the scant group that gathered at the edge of Kohona's tent city, "Is this all there is?" As his heart sank, he noted not only the small number of the nurses and medics, but also the chubby cheeks of baby fat on more than a few faces. His team may be young compared to the those out on the field at the moment, but some of these fresh troops could only have just finished their first year as genin. Konohamaru frowned deeply at the thought they were going to witness war first hand. It had to be more of Morino's doing. He had been pushing for more of the academy graduates to enter his accelerated medical courses. Whether enough information sank in to make a difference remained to be seen, but it looked like he intended testing the final product in the middle of the battlefield.

Karin avoided joining the group and stayed under the shadow of a tall tree. Leaning against the rough bark of the tree trunk, she took a deep breath of fresh clean air, relishing being free from that dank and depressing prison. If the Leaf thought she was going to go out of her way to help them win a war she could care less about, they were going to be disappointed. In her mind, she worked on several escape plans while traveling with the other shinobi.

"Oi, Karin-san," shouted Konohamaru from the roadside, "It's almost time to leave. Get out here already."

Rolling her red eyes, Karin walked out of the shadows and came into view of everyone. There was a soft rumble of discontent from the rest of the medics. It was clear they were uncomfortable in the presence of the former Akatsuki kunoichi and the looks of distaste were openly thrown her way.

A woman grabbed Udon's arm and whispered harshly, "What is she doing here? That bitch is a good way to poison our shinobi when they need our help the most."

"It was Morino-san's idea. Take it up with him," explained Udon then pulled his arm from her grasp, "And at this point I'm going to have to agree. Compared to everyone else here, she's the one with the best experience."

Konohamaru and Udon glanced at one another and shared the same thought. Morino's decision to use Karin on the front lines meant that every skilled medic was needed to win the war, even an enemy who healed would be valuable in freeing up the doctors for more serious cases. He held up an arm for all to see and motioned them forward, "We're heading out and keeping a steady pace. Everyone needs to keep up or risk getting left behind."

Even though she stayed with the group, Karin purposely lagged behind everyone to keep a safe distance. The last thing she wanted to deal with was the nasty glares and whispered insults from the others. Whether living in prison as an inmate or in charge, she knew how to fit in with the lowlifes and manipulate the criminals to do whatever she wanted. Now she had to mingle with 'Normal' and 'Respectable' folk. The very idea of ingratiating herself to them made Karin sick to her stomach. She looked forward to the very first time when she could no longer feel eyes watching then she'll hightail it for Rain's border.

"Don't worry about getting lonely, Karin-san." Moegi slowed down to match Karin's speed and glanced at the prisoner with a bright smile but a dangerous glint in her eye, "All three of us will be keeping tabs on you from here on out. So don't bother planning some way to escape."

Karin frowned at the thought of three babysitters watching her every second of every day. She sneered at the chipper Moegi and snapped at the girl, "Wouldn't dream of it."

True to their word, the Konohamaru Crew kept close tabs on her the entire trip to the , Sleeping and bathroom breaks were spent with Moegi, while Udon and Konohamaru took turns staying by her side. They gave her no chance to escape. It got to the point that Karin looked forward to reaching the Joint Shinobi camps just to ditch those annoying kids. The group arrived at sunset, just in time to see hundreds of shinobi in the medical tents, moaning, groaning, and cursing the names of their own teammates.

Konohamaru knelt beside a man who was resting beside a fireside and nursing a gash across his chest, "What happened here?" Udon rushed to his side and began properly cleaning the wound.

The man was relieved to get some medical attention even if it was from a genin and thanked the boy, "The Akatsuki have clones of our own troops running around the camp. People are attacking each other because they mimic the same chakra as us."

"That's horrible," gasped Moegi.

"It get's worse," the man grunted as Udon pressed healing chakra into his chest, "The clones have been targeting the jounin medics. It's a good thing you got here. We really need you. Just be sure all of you watch your backs."

The group hurried through the camp until they reached the main tent where the Hokage was meeting with her jounins. A couple genin were standing guard outside when Konohamaru walked up to them.

"Tell Tsunade-sama that we're here." The two genin rushed inside and the group heard a slight commotion come from inside the tent.

Tsunade stomped out of her tent and yelled, "WHAT NOW?" She stopped to see all the new medical staff waiting patiently for her orders, "Oh thank kami. Shizune, get out here." The brunette peeked out from the behind the flap then followed her shishu to meet the new medics.

Relieved to see the fresh healers as well, Shizune immediately started giving the medics to their new assignments, "You and you, go to the surgery tents five and six. You three, tents three and four. The rest of you spread yourselves to the first aid stations around camp.

Shizune stopped when she stepped in front of Karin and frowned slightly, "Morino sent you?"

Tsunade laid a hand on her assistant's shoulder and pulled the brunette away to study Karin, "I suppose you would be useful whether or not you're cooperative." Narrowing her amber eyes, Tsunade lent a dark edge to her voice, "Or even conscious." That made Karin stiffen and glare at the Hokage with as much hate she could muster.

"Follow the rules, don't try to pull anything funny and we won't have to resort to extreme measures. Go to the first aid station next to tent one for now. But be mindful of your chakra, I might need you for an emergency."

Karin bowed to the Hokage then went to work immediately. Moegi took the first shift and walked beside the redhead until they found the tent with a number one painted on the side. They could hear the moans and occasional wail of the seriously wounded.

"Quick, hold him down," a man yelled from inside. There was a sound of people jumbling together than the sickening sound of a limb or an extremity being chopped off. Moegi went pale and looked like she was going to throw up, while Karin adjusted her glasses and casually waited for the ruckus to die down.

A bunch of weary medics covered in blood came stumbling out the tent followed by a Suna chuunin dragging a white corpse with half it's head missing and deep slash marks all over it's torso. Karin recognized it as the one half of Zetsu which constantly baled Sasuke's out of the fire. As it was tossed to the side, she looked over the body analytically and wondered, "So what does the other side do?"

"You there!"

Karin forgot about the Zetsu clone and turned to the loud voice of a jounin yelling at her, "Hai?"

"We need to tend to the injured medics here," The man pointed toward the Suna chuunin leaning on his saber for support while his left leg bled profusely, "He's not so bad. Get him cleaned up at the first aid station."

The chuunin limped forward then nearly fell over from the bloodloss. Karin and Moegi quickly went to either side of the chuunin and supported underneath his arms until they reached the small tent just to the side of the larger surgery. They laid him out on the stretcher then Karin got to work. The jounin medic was right. It looked bad, but the wound was mostly superficial.

As she waved healing chakra over the chuunin's sliced calf, Moegi hovered over Karin's shoulder, watching closely as the flesh and skin slowly knitted itself together. "No doubt about it," whispered the young kunoichi, "You are good. No wonder..." Moegi blushed when she realized she was talking out loud and pulled backwards.

Karin paused and glared at Moegi from the side, "No wonder, what? That Orochimaru and Sasuke recruited me to heal them? There's more to me than that, but then you don't have that kind of clearance. Do you have any training in healing?"

Moegi shook her head, "Not like that. Udon-kun is the medic of our team."

Putting one hand on her hip, Karin sighed with disgust, "Do you at least know how to a bind a wound?"

Moegi lifted her chin and huffed, "Of course."

Karin moved out of the way and waved the young kunoichi to the patient, "Then now is a good time to put that skill to use. Then he'll be fine with some rest and regular first aid."

"B-but can't you move things a lot faster by.." Moegi wiggled her fingers in a mysterious pattern.

Karin smirked and wagged a finger, "Remember the Hokage's orders, I need to conserve my chakra reserves." Stretching her arms, Karin looked around to see who was next in need of healing.

She was about to head for the next tent when she froze in one spot and murmured, "I know that chakra... Don't tell me _she's_ here?" It was far too easy for Karin to know that it was indeed the kunoichi who saved her life not too long ago. Any sensor ninja would have to be stupid to forget that chakra.

When Karin first tasted Sasuke's chakra, it had a cool awesome feeling that had her heart skipping a beat. Juugo was a barely controlled anger and rage that rippled underneath a thin coat of calm. Suigetsu? Karin snorted to herself. Suigetsu was Suigetsu. Slithering, slimy, moldy crap that was always on the move like a hyperactive snake.

When she came across that Naruto guy who had Sasuke going nuts, his started out warm and beautiful but digging deeper revealed the immense evil of the bijuu inside of him. She never wanted to dive that far into the kid ever again. But that girl... That kunoichi who wept over her broken body and tried to heal what Sasuke had left for dead... Her chakra was sweet and crisp like fresh lychee wrapped with the delicate touch of unconditional love. It was difficult to forget chakra like that.

That chakra ran past their tent and then stopped in front of a communications jounin. Karin held her breath until she heard the familiar voice that had been etched into her memories, "Shizune-san has figured out the White Zetsu clones. We need to relay this information to the nin on the battlefield right away!"

The redhead checked to make sure Moegi was paying attention to the patient before she peered out the tent flap in time to see a medical chuunin only a tad shorter than herself with soft pink hair trimmed to a practical chin length. The flak jacket with the Leaf emblem marked her as Konoha and respected by the shinobi from the way she dished out orders to men bigger and older than her.

Karin had heard that girl's name mentioned by the Copy Cat ninja when he carried her to Konoha for interrogation. She tapped her lip in thought, 'What was her name again?' Karin quickly stepped back into place when Moegi stood up from the patient's cot.

The young kunoichi didn't notice Karin's movement, but gasped when she saw who was standing right outside the tent and she tore open the tent flap, "Sakura!"


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Naruto nor make any profit from it.

A hearty thanks to all who reviewed, alerted, and favorited. I'm glad you like it and hope you enjoy.

Chapter Two

"Sakura-neesan," yelled a young voice from behind her and Sakura stopped talking to the men waiting for their debriefing then she turned in time to have Moegi rush into her for a hug.

Sakura blinked her green eyes in confusion then sighed as she gently pushed the girl backward, "Moegi-chan, what are you doing here? Don't you know how dangerous it is right now? This is no place for you." The other shinobi glanced at one another then quietly meandered elsewhere to leave Sakura scolding the fresh-faced kunoichi with the ridiculously high pigtails.

Embarrassed and confused, Moegi pouted at her idol with a sad quiver in her voice, "But Sakura-neesan, we only wanted to help in the war effort."

"We," blustered Sakura. She dropped her hands then swung around to look for the stupid knuckleheads, "Don't tell me Konohamaru and Udon are gallivanting around the camp as well!"

The girl's cheeks burned a brighter pink as she debated whether or not Sakura was being sarcastic, "Um..."

Sakura slumped over when she realized Naruto's biggest fan and littlest rival was probably searching high and low for his hero, "Oh no! The last thing we need now is the Sandaime's grandson getting into trouble. Tsunade-shishou will be furious."

"Oi, take it easy on the kid," grumbled a person from behind a tent flap, "It's not her fault your village is getting desperate."

Sakura frowned at the stranger's voice from inside the first aid station and stalked towards the tent, "Whoever has the balls to say that, better say it to my face."

"Fine then, Pink." Karin stepped out from the darkness of the tent and tried not to sneer at Sakura's surprised expression, "There's a rumor going around that you need medics." She held her gaze steady with the Leaf kunoichi's and a sly smile curled on her lips, "What's the matter? You did say that it was dangerous in camp. Who would everyone around here rather get stabbed in the back, you or me?"

Sakura realized that her mouth was wide open and she quickly shut it before Karin's smirk grew any bigger, "I can handle myself fine. How the hell did you get out of prison?"

"It's now a part of her rehabilitation program," whispered Moegi from behind Sakura's back, "Karin-san will earn her freedom early by helping heal our shinobi."

"Or die as another casualty of battle," Karin shrugged casually, "Either way it's no skin off your back, Pink."

Sakura glared at this Akatsuki kunoichi's gall in giving her a nickname and growled, "My name is Sakura."

"No shit, really?" teased Karin as she tilted her head and noted the color of the other's soft hair blowing sideways from a gentle evening breeze.

Sakura turned away from the bitch snickering at her and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Ugh, I get enough of this catty banter from Ino as it is. I am too busy to worry about you, Karin. So keep out of trouble and don't make me regret saving your life." That sharp dig wiped the smile from Karin in the blink of an eye.

Moegi and Karin watched Sakura march through the tents, both admiring the rose-hued kunoichi but each for entirely different reasons.

"Is is true that Sakura-neesan saved your life," asked Moegi.

It grated on her nerves to admit any weakness in public, but Karin managed to mumble a weak, "Yeah, she did."

Moegi clasped both hands together and sighed dreamily,"Oh wow! That was so noble of her."

Karin made a sour face and blew a raspberry, "She's a real bleeding heart. Last time I saw her, that lapse in judgment nearly got her killed, so I wouldn't be idolizing anyone like that if I were you, kid."

Moegi didn't believe the redhead's bravado and put one hand on her hip, "Would you rather she had left you alone to die?"

Karin merely shrugged as if anyone's life, not even hers was worth much at all, "I wouldn't have been the first corpse people have stepped over."

Moegi stood there staring at Karin and didn't know how to respond to such indifference. She was a little young, but Moegi had seen her fair share of death and destruction. Fortunately, there had always been those to provide healing balms, physically and emotionally. From the cold attitude Karin displayed, it looked like she was thrown into the violent world of shinobi and had a very bloody, unforgiving life.

"Back to work then," said Karin, cutting into Moegi's thoughts like a knife. The redhead easily read the younger kunoichi and didn't like the look of sad pity growing on the kid's face.

They returned to the first aid tent and gave the Suna nin a pair of crutches. He promised to get a proper meal, not use any food pills unless it was absolutely necessary then he hobbled away to the east side of the encampment. Karin huffed as she threw the tent flap down after seeing the guy off. He would promise high and low, but she knew he was going to head into the fight the moment the pain in his leg was bearable.

She put one hand on a hip and shook her head, 'What is it with guys that rush into battle the moment they get a little bit of healing and then become surprised when they can't take on the world.'

Then there was a squeal of feedback that came from the loudspeakers posted around the camp and Shizune's voice came blasting out, "Medics to your stations please. Level three emergency. I repeat, level three emergency."

Seconds later, hundreds of ninja were being dropped off at the edge of camp then they were carted to the hospital pavilions and first aid tents. A large group of wounded came streaming into her station and it didn't long before Karin was knee-deep in patients suffering from burns from a powerful lightning and fire jutsu. Moegi took it upon herself to do the washing and dressing the wounds with a cooling, numbing salve, freeing Karin to treat the more serious burns where skin had melted away, exposing vulnerable flesh.

It was well past midnight when the last patient was moved to his own bunk, leaving the two kunoichi to clean the station. Karin had barely any chakra left, but there was enough to disinfect her equipment and the used towels before putting them in a large plastic tub with the rest of the dirty laundry.

As she put away the rags and towels, Moegi broke the silence with a question that had been weighing on her mind for a long time, "How well did you get to know Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Well enough." Karin muttered without looking up from her task.

Recognizing that expression all too well, Moegi looked over Karin and smirked, "I see... you fell for him too then."

Karin finished disinfecting the last towel and threw it in with the rest with a hard thump , "That's none of your business, kid. She peered at Moegi with a discerning eye, That's a strange question coming from someone like you. Aren't you a little young to be mooning over Sasuke-kun."

Moegi shook her head, "I wasn't talking about me, but of Sakura-neesan. There was a time when she would have done anything for him." The young kunoichi gaze turned outside the tent then frowned in worry, "She still might."

Karin thought back to when she was lying on the bridge, sliding in and out of consciousness. She remembered snippets of a conversation between Sasuke and the mysterious kunoichi who put her plans on hold to save an enemy. "Serious, were they?"

"She wanted to be serious. Him?" Moegi hemmed and hawed about how much gossip to tell the prisoner, "Not so much. Hard to tell with a guy like that."

"No. Not really," Karin picked up the laundry tub, heaved it over to the outside of the tent entrance, and slammed it on the ground for the cleaners to haul away in the morning, "Once you understand that he really isn't playing hard to get or that he doesn't want your love and understanding to cure his self-destructive behavior, Sasuke-kun is very easy read. If he needs you, you live. If not, consider yourself lucky when all he does is abandon you."

She walked back inside the tent to re-stack the cots and grumbled, "That Uzumaki kid doesn't know how good he got it."

Moegi was about to ask Karin about how she knew of Uzumaki Naruto when Konohamaru and Udon came running through the tent flap to stop nearly breathless in front of the two kunoichi.

Udon was the first to speak, "We heard that Naruto-niisan is out on the battlefield right now and kicking some major butt!" He swung his arms with air punches and nearly knocked his own glasses off his nose.

"Oh my gosh, really?" squeaked Moegi as she bounce on her toes.

"Eh?" said Karin as she stood there watching the three kids, wondering what got them so worked up. Konohamaru gushed excitedly, "There are wounded coming back with the most amazing stories! We're gonna convince a Hyuuga to spy on Naruto-niisan and give us a play-by-play. I know that it's my turn in a few minutes, but can you cover my guard shift, Moegi? Pleeease?"

The girl's face fell like a stone at being left out of the loop, but she wanted so much to give Konohamaru a good impression, "Uh..."

Konohamaru assumed her slow response was an assent and gave her a thumbs up, "Great! You're such a cool girl, Moegi-chan! I'll be sure to make it up to you later."

Moegi held up a finger, but the boys were already out the tent,"B-but! Oh dear. Oh dear. She wrung her hands together, feeling quite dejected at being left behind.

Karin rolled her red eyes skyward and placed the last cot on top of the stack, "Ugh, go on then." She waved at the anxious girl, "I'm not going anywhere, sweetheart. I'm surrounded by a ton of shinobi who probably memorized my file by now. They know to keep an eye on me whether they were assigned or not."

"Ummm," Moegi waffled for a second more before looking to one side at the tent flap then bursting into a bright smile, "Okay, don't go anywhere and I'll be back soon."

Karin blew a sigh of relief as the genin rushed out the the tent to meet her hero, "And just when I was beginning to think the kid was glued to my ass." Ignoring Moegi's instructions, she ducked out of the first aid station and carefully looked around before wandering off in a random direction. She passed by several tents. Some were filled with shinobi recovering. Others had maps open on the ground and discussing strategies to make the most of each other's abilities. That same warm spirit of camaraderie and trust she found in Naruto and the other Leaf nin seemed to have spread among the other nations as well. Karin was amazed how many kinds of ninja from the five nations managed to work out their differences together for a greater purpose.

'Survival,' thought Karin as she walked along the path, 'Can't get more basic than that. Good luck with it though. Madara-sama and Sasuke-kun are going to be a nothing like they've ever encountered. As sweet as they are, these people better have a back up plan.'

As she drew near the center of the large encampment, the enticing aroma of fried pork and freshly cooked rice hit Karin like a wall, reminding her just how long it had been since she had a proper meal. Prison food was slop barely fit for pigs and the travel rations shared by Konohamaru was heavy on the soldier pills. She wouldn't be surprised if her ribs were starting to poke through.

Her stomach grumbled on cue and Karin gave her abdomen a pat, "Alright already. Everybody wants to push me around today." She didn't need anymore prompting from her body. Karin followed her nose, practically floated on tiptoes as she strolled along the marvelous trail leading to a large pavilion.

Sakura peered from between tents and watched the redhead walk straight for the nearest mess. It was lucky for Moegi that Sakura happened to be walking by to check on how Karin was doing. She saw how was distressed Moegi became from missing out on the latest news about Naruto and felt sorry for the poor girl. From behind Karin's back, Sakura silently stuck a thumb out and freed the young kunoichi from doing overtime. Now she was babysitting someone who wasn't her problem.

'Nothing wrong with getting some grub,' said Inner Sakura, 'That last wave of wounded was pretty bad and Karin worked hard today. She would be hungry. Why don't you let Karin to do her thing and get back to the lab. We have more samples waiting to be tested.'

"Those can wait. Shizune-san would understand. I simply don't trust Karin not to try escaping," Sakura whispered to herself, "She can turn on us at any moment or be carried off by one of the Akatsuki clones to help Sasuke-kun again."

'By all means then. Waste your free time chasing the bad girl all over camp. We'll see what that gets you in the end.' Inner Sakura gave up and settled into a cozy corner of Sakura's mind.

Kumokagure's famous cooking-nin, the Ryouri, were hard at work finally filling their roles in feeding the hungry masses of shinobi that recovered from battle. As Karin passed the outdoor kitchens, she noticed less of the haute cuisine they usually pushed on their customers which contributed to their downfall. Instead their recipes were more common fare, modified to fit with the enormous task of feeding several armies, every day, at all hours. The sight of so much delicious food made Karin's mouth water at the sight of pans filled with slabs of beef sizzling in their own gravy, crispy pork roasting on a spit, and seasoned whole chickens sitting in rows waiting to be carved and served.

She followed the steady stream of people going into the mess tent and patiently waited in line with the other shinobi. Karin ignored the whispers and stares coming from behind. She was too intent on diving into that gorgeous smorgasbord to care one wit what other people were saying. When Karin reached the first station, she grabbed a metal food tray and chopsticks, more than ready for a good meal.

A food server took in the sight of Karin's prison uniform and looked at the superior officer standing in line ahead of her for confirmation that the former Akatsuki kunoichi was supposed to be there.

The jounin barely glanced over his shoulders to understand the server's predicament then muttered under his breath, "Just do it."

When the man continued down the line, Karin held out her tray and watched the ladle pour the savory stew into the bowl. The rest of the tray was filled with a great heap of rice, steamed vegetables, and finally the delicious slices of sweet pork that drew her to the pavilion in the first place. She went to sit down at the end of a long table and quickly dove into her food. The closest diners glanced at Karin and her prison uniform then got up and moved to another table. Karin paused long enough to watch them leave, but none of them came over to steal her food. She continued eating her meal while stopping once in a while to take great big gulps of the stew.

'So far, so good,' Karin thought as she stuffed a hearty portion of rice in her mouth, 'It's nice not having to defend your food everyday. Damn, I'm starving. I didn't realize how much chakra I used up today. That's not good.'

Sakura peered from a hole in the tent fabric and watched Karin wolf down food like Naruto on Ichiraku ramen. She couldn't blame her. The redhead had worked her tail off, every one of the medics did that evening, and there were no reports of suspicious deaths from her first aid station. "Perhaps I am over-reacting," Satisfied that Karin was not attempting to escape, Sakura nodded to herself and backed away from the hole. She was about to head back to her lab when three figures from her own past came strolling toward Karin's table then stared at the redhead minding her own business.

For some reason Sakura had a bad feeling that Ami, Fuki, and Kasumi were up to no good. "Maybe it's a little too soon to leave."

…...

AN: Working on the third chapter now. Don't know when I can put it up since my schedule this year has been a lot more hectic than anticipated. Sometimes I feel like I'm herding cats. :)


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Naruto nor do I make any profit from it

Thank you for your patience. Ami, Fuki, and Kasumi's background will be explained further on.

Enjoy!

Chapter Three

Peering through the hole in the mess tent, Sakura shook her head and murmured, "What is it about today and nightmare reunions?"

'Beats me,' replied Inner Sakura, 'I didn't think those girls made it past genin, much less make it into the battlefield.'

Sakura poked her finger in the hole to get a better view of the medic chowing down, "Let's hope Sasuke's old fangirls don't stir the pot. Karin is in the Bingo Books for a reason."

Sakura frowned when she caught sight of the one with chin length purple hair and a haughty sneer, "Ami." That self-absorbed girl would never pass up a chance for an ego boost, especially when her little posse, Fuki and Kasumi, were around. Karin was about to have some unwanted company.

Ami walked ahead of the other two as they strolled near the redhead. She glared hatefully at Karin from the side then proclaimed loudly, "Ewww, something smells bad in here. Do you smell it too, Kasumi? Fuki?" They glided past Karin, chose a table across, and sat in her view, continuing their conversation for her benefit.

The girl with a purple star pinned into her orange curly hair pinched her nose and gave out a nasally whine, "Ugh, you're right. It's like rotten eggs. Last time I smelled something that horrible it came from the Correctional Facility back home."

'Shit on a stick,' Karin rolled her eyes as she carefully kept her cool, 'It's always the same wherever you go. Someone has to play the pecking-order game. Fuck 'em. No way in hell I'm letting these cunts ruin my dinner.'

"There's your problem, Ami," said the one with spiky brown hair and jerked her chin in Karin's direction, "Some trash thought it could crawl out of the garbage bin and join normal people." Much to the three kunoichi's chagrin, Karin didn't look up, but kept on eating. In fact, her chopsticks began moving the food faster.

Ami turned in her seat and glared at the redhead, "Hey, pig! Ever heard of soap and a shower? We may be in the middle of a war, but good hygiene is still important."

"Who is she anyways, Ami?" asked Fuki as she turned to her friend.

Ami watched Karin pretend to ignore them and sneered, "Udon-kun told me about her. She's supposed to be a medic. Used to be a part of the Akatsuki then she was captured. Most likely dumped because she couldn't heal Sasuke-kun properly."

Sakura watched the three kunoichi taunt Karin. She was surprised by the redhead's lack of any reaction. Not a single tear in her red eyes. No biting retort in her defense. She didn't even bother looking up from her meal.

Fuki huffed at the stubborn kunoichi still eating her food as if it was her last meal and waved a finger at Karin, "Seriously, red! We're trying to eat here and your disgusting stench is ruining our appetites. Go hit the food trough with the rest of the prisoners of war."

'That's right,' thought Karin as her chopsticks never stopped moving, 'Keep yapping like the stupid little bitches you are. Just as long as you stay over there where it's safe.'

Ami scowled and declared to her friends, "I don't think she gets the hint. If some people have to be hit over the head with a hammer. So be it." She grabbed her canteen, stood up from her bench, and gestured for the other two to pick up their own water canteens. All three walked to where Karin sat and circled behind her.

"Bottoms up!" The purple-haired kunoichi tipped her canteen over Karin and the others followed suit. Three steams of water poured over Karin's head, leaving her bright red hair dripping and prison uniform soaked from the shoulders to the sleeves.

Karin rounded her jaw in irritation as the cold water hit her and took a deep breath for control. Now was the time that she bothered to acknowledge the three girls' existence and glared at each of them.

"Slight improvement," quipped Kasumi as she sniffed the air next to the redhead and winced, "But not by much."

"Is there a problem I help you with, ladies," muttered Karin while she gathered her red hair in both hands and twisted the water out.

"You are our problem," Ami leaned down and hissed in Karin's ear, "The Akatsuki are not welcomed here and everyone in this entire camp knows about you and Sasuke-kun together in that ragtag team pretending to be bad-ass Akatsuki."

Trying to diffuse the tension, Karin pointed to herself and smiled sweetly, "Who me? Are you talking about me? Can't always trust what everybody says. You must be mistaking me for someone else."

Fuki sneered at Karin's act, "Don't play innocent with us. We don't fall for that bullshit."

"It was worth a shot," sighed Karin and she tried going back to her food, but Kasumi grabbed her by the chin and redirected Karin's head back to them.

"It's not possible for any girl to stay with Sasuke-kun for that long and not fall in love with him," said Kasumi before letting go of the redhead.

Karin rolled her eyes up then to one side as if taking a moment to think. Then she shrugged her shoulders high and smiled wistfully, "Ah, yeah. You got me there, girlies. What can I say? Sasuke-kun is hot as hell and his arms were always a comfort on cold nights." Karin found it satisfying to see the leader turn as purple as her hair and sputter angrily at their enemy.

"How dare you," growled Ami and looked over Karin from heat to toe with a critical eye, "You're making it up. Sasuke-kun would never stoop so low as to pay any attention to a grotesque creature as you."

"Then why did he come looking for me," said Karin digging the kunai in further, "I was happy as a clam where I was, but seeing Sasuke-kun beg me for help... Well, I just couldn't turn him down."

Furious at Karin's smug grin, Ami swept her arm across the table and slid the food tray onto the ground. Rice, sweet pork, and vegetables sprayed everywhere and landed on the worn down grass and dirt.

'Oh fuck this,' Karin slammed both hands on the table, rose from her seat, and stood toe to toe with Ami. Fuki and Kasumi were quick to position them behind and either side of their target while Ami smirked, waiting for Karin to throw the first punch. This was just what Ami wanted. With so many witnesses around, it was the perfect way to send the Akatsuki kunoichi back to the Konoha Correctional Facility, suffering like all the other low-lifes.

Karin's mind raced through the various delightful ways she had killed shinobi many levels above these three peons. A high kick enhanced with slicing chakra would have a head bouncing a good three meters. Cutting a belly open with a hand scalpel and letting the entrails spill on the ground. OR, her personal favorite, one palm to the forehead and her chakra could skewer the brain inside the skull like a scorpion stinger. Karin could feel the delicious adrenalin start to race through her body.

'Ah, yes! This was just like when I managed to torture a fellow prisoner in Konoha without the guards noticing. BUT... that was when I had no hope of ever seeing daylight.' That half-second of clarity reminded Karin about the glimmer of worry coming from afar and the sweet scent of sanity. It encouraged Karin to keep that fiery temper of hers under control. So she squeezed her red eyes shut, bit her lower lip until it hurt, and stopped building up killer chakra.

Sakura stepped back into the shadow of the tent flap and sighed in relief. She was sure Karin was about to waste those three idiots in less than a minute. She may have felt it was her duty to protect those weaker than her, but a part of Sakura wanted to see Ami, Kasumi, and Fuki laid flat on their asses. Three guesses which part.

'Let her! Oh please, let her!' Inner Sakura bounced around happily, 'I wanna see them cry like they did to us when we were kids.'

"Long past time to get over that," mumbled Sakura and she quietly watched Karin from the shadows.

Annoyed that her plan wasn't working, Ami narrowed her eyes and frowned. She went ahead and made the first move. She raised a hand and slapped Karin hard enough to knock the redhead backwards then Fuki swung her foot behind their target's ankle knocking Karin to the ground. That made other people in the next table stop talking and watch the situation with great interest. A jounin from Kumo was about to stand up, but the woman next to him grabbed his wrist and shook her head.

Still flat on her back, Karin found her glasses and put them back on. She casually tested her jaw and made sure all teeth were accounted for. She shrugged off pain from the slight bruise on her cheek and propped herself up on her elbows to look up at the three nervous girls standing above her.

The three Leaf kunoichi could feel eyes on them and expected someone to intervene or reprimand them, but there was no reaction from anyone. Further emboldened, the purple-haired kunoichi returned her attention back at Karin and whispered, "Don't bother looking around for help. No one's gonna care what we do to you. Because of the Akatsuki we've all witnessed our comrades in arms suffer horrible deaths. You might be here on orders from the Hokage, but that doesn't mean we'll ever accept you as one of us."

"Do I look like I care?" Karin picked herself up, dusted off her pants and threw a laugh in their faces, "Acceptance! Why would I want something as pitiful and meaningless from you?"

At a loss on what to do next, Fuki and Kasumi looked over at their leader, who tried to figure out something else to do. There were too many witness now and using any real fighting techniques would result in themselves getting thrown into the slammer.

Karin sensed their hesitancy to take this cat fight to the next level and tilted her head slightly to ponder on their silence, "What's the matter? What happened to all that piss and vinegar?"

"Now what do we do, Ami-chan," Kasumi whispered to her friends and moved in between Ami and Fuki.

Karin raised an eyebrow at how the three girls drew closer together subconsciously, "Perhaps I've been going about this little tete-a-tete all wrong. It had been a while, but the last time I was given this much attention was when someone had a crush on me."

"What the hell does that have to do with us," growled Fuki with her brows knitted in confusion.

Karin chuckled at their naivete then tucked a red strand behind her ear as she reminisced, "Ah, Tsubaki-chan... She was very aggressive in the beginning, but once we got past dancing around each other, it turned into a mutually beneficial arrangement."

Ami blinked, "Say what?" A couple snickers could be heard from the other table.

"I should have recognized this sooner." Karin fluttered her lashes playfully, moved forward into Ami, and took the confused kunoichi by the hand, "It's alright. A terrible war may be all around us, but everyone could use a little extra attention now and again. Lips are still lips that kiss. Hands are hands that can make that a body shiver well through the night." Karin raised the fingertips of her other hand to splay gently across Ami's cheek then down her neck.

The purple-haired kunoichi felt her personal space invaded and she eyed Karin warily, "What are you doing? Don't touch me like that."

"Are you sure, about that? Because I can make you feel so very good." Karin noted how the skin she touched slowly glowed pink and the other kunoichi's breath hitched from the chakra rippled over sensitive nerves like butterfly kisses.

Kasumi slapped Karin's hand away and screamed, "Stop! Don't do that to Ami-chan, you disgusting whore!

Feigning surprise, Karin pulled back slightly, "I'm sorry, would I be butting in on something here already? I'm only now noticing just how close you three are."

Sakura did a bad job of stifling her giggles as the three tormentors from her childhood struggled to hold their own against a young woman who managed to rule a prison filled with Sound shinobi.

"What are you talking about," defended Kasumi, who also happened to blush at the insinuation, "It's not like that with us. We're just friends. Everyone knows that."

Karin leaned on the table with one hand, "Well, it starts out that way, but most torrid affairs usually take off from friendships. If you're willing to add one more to the mix-"

"Shut up! Just shut up!" screamed Ami, bringing more attention from other shinobi, "You're just another freak nympho looking to score! They should have kept you locked up in prison, rotting like the rest of the scum."

"Such a fuss," Karin shrugged both shoulders, "I make a pass at you and it's as if I have some horrible disease. Some people would be flattered." Then she leaned close to Ami's ear and whispered loudly, "Unless there's something you're embarrassed about! Maybe there's enough yeast down there to bake bread?" She waved a hand, "From girl to girl... We medics have a nifty trick that clears up infections in a snap while my chakra feels like a tiny jackhammer to the clit. Take care of two things at once. Can't beat that." Then Karin raised a glowing fingertip and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Fuki sputtered at the redhead's blatant flirting, "Stay away from us, you... you lesbian slut!"

"Bi," corrected Karin as she rounded on one hip, "As in bi-sexual. If you're going to insult people, please use the appropriate terms."

A worried Kasumi glanced around the room to see the dining shinobi point and smiling in their direction. She tapped Fuki on the shoulder and whispered, "People are talking about us. We need to get out of here before it gets worse."

Fuki grabbed Ami by the arm and muttered softly, "Gossip spreads like wildfire."

Driving the last nail in the coffin, Karin tapped her chin in thought then brightened, "Oh wait, I get it now. It must be that time of the month. Look aside from things being a tad messy, it's not all that bad and a little lovin' sure helps with the cramps."

"You sick bitch," hissed Ami. She drew back and spat in Karin's face then stormed out the tent before the rumor mill had anymore fodder to ruin their reputations.

Using one sleeve to wipe her face clean, Karin watched the kunoichi retreat. Amusement twinkled in her red eyes and silently congratulated herself for taking care of a situation without having to lift a finger. She looked around the mess to find that the rest of the diners had returned to their food. Clearly, they decided that it wasn't worth paying any more attention to the redhead medic who liked to hit on women.

A glance down at her upended tray reminded Karin's stomach of the delicious food that now graced the ground, "Shit." She sighed at the horrible waste of a fine meal then noticed the abandoned trays on the other table.

"What the hell," Karin picked up the closest one and perused the other two trays for the best bits. She took the uneaten chicken and both bowls of rice, but none of them had any pork.

"No accounting for taste I suppose," Karin perused through the abandoned meal trays and transferred the uneaten food to her own, "Ooh an apple!" She grabbed the fruit, sat down, and took out the kunai she had lifted from Ami's weapons pouch. She expertly twirled it into a circle in the air before sliding the edge under the red skin. Karin happily hummed to herself while twisting the apple against the kunai. Not nearly as satisfying when kicking someone's head in, but there was no doubt about it. She loved that tiny thrill from fucking with someone's head.

That was when Sakura decided to stop hiding and go inside the mess. She smoothed out her medic apron and walked through the entrance. Without looking in Karin's direction, she calmly waited in line and picked up her own food before walking to the table where Karin sat. Sakura casually nodded at the bench across the table, "This seat taken?"

The redhead glanced at Sakura and gestured with the kunai that the seat was free. She continued peeling the apple then placed the perfect spiral of red skin on her tray.

"Itadakimasu," Sakura broke her chopsticks then poked the tips through the chicken before mentioning, "You should know that kunai is off-limits. You could be punished for stealing it from official shinobi and that would kill any chance you have of a pardon."

Karin shrugged as she sliced the apple into quarters, "Could, but won't. My pinching a kunai is not likely to be considered a real threat since a certain someone didn't intervene when it happened." She picked up an apple piece and bit into the crisp white flesh.

"Mm-mm," Karin closed her eyes and chewed slowly to savor the sweet taste of fresh fruit, "Now that is a good apple." When she opened her eyes again, Karin found Sakura watching her with those brilliant green eyes of hers and the redhead coughed to hide a rising blush.

A smirk grew on Sakura's face as she realized Karin knew all along that she was hiding outside the tent, "When did you figure out I was here?"

"Sensor type, remember." The redhead lifted another slice of fruit and examined it to keep herself from gazing into those lovely eyes, "I never lost you."


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own Naruto nor make any profit from it

Happy Halloween!

Chapter Four

An oddly content Karin stepped out the mess exit and stretched her arms high, "Ahhh! That was desperately needed." Swinging her limbs around to loosen the muscles, Karin waited as Sakura bowed her thanks to the kitchen staff then she joined the redhead outside.

Karin gave her stomach a pat and took a step backwards, "Well, thanks for the dinner company, but I think I better head back and get some sleep."

Sakura blocked her path with one hand, "With the way this war is going, we will all need as much sleep as we can get. But I know you only just got here today. Do you know the way back to your station, Karin?"

Karin looked around the makeshift lamp posts and flags along the pathways. The way back seemed pretty straight forward. She already recognized a few tent signs. Karin shrugged, "I can figure it out. Don't worry about me."

Sakura tilted her head to the side and smiled sweetly, "Why don't I walk with you anyways. Just to make sure you get there safely."

Karin threw an irritated side-glare at Sakura, who seemed quite immune to the hostile expression, then sighed, "Alright. If it means so much to you."

As she walked beside Sakura, Karin felt strangely self-conscious and folded her arms, attempting to hide her appearance, 'Why am I bothering? It's not like I'm trying to impress anyone. Well, maybe her.' Glancing to the side, Karin noticed how Sakura was neat and clean, so nicely put together. Her own red hair was frizzed and unkempt. Even worse, the drab prison clothes were hardly kind to her figure. At least she had her charming personality. 'Crap! Shot myself down before even making a move.'

She tried to play it cool by paying attention to the passing people or the stars twinkling overhead, but Karin kept feeling the need to look back at Sakura. She looked left, up at the night sky then slowly glanced right to see Sakura smiling right back at her. Karin threw her gaze to the front and tried not to notice the sweat beading on her brow.

Sakura frowned to herself when Karin refused to keep eye contact for very long. Did she have a bit of rice on her cheek or something? As they turned a corner, Sakura and Karin came across Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji. Team Ten was newly bandaged, somewhat rested, and on their way to back to the front.

Chouji grinned to see his friend safe and waved, "Sakura, good to see you're still alive. We've been getting our asses handed to us out there."

She nodded in agreement, "We've seen the results. It's been bad here too."

Ino flicked her long blond bangs to the side and whined, "No doubt. I thought the first wave was bad. The next one was a doozy. Thank kami, Naruto and Killer Bee showed up when they did. I doubt this many of us would have survived this long."

Quietly observing the whole scene, Shikamaru peered at the woman dressed in a prisoner's uniform and shuffling her feet nervously as she tried to avoid joining the conversation. Having memorized her file already, he decided to turn the conversation to the captured Akatsuki, "Who's this?"

Sakura laid a hand on the redhead's shoulder and introduced them, "This is Karin. Karin, meet my good friends... Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino."

Ino's normally bright eyes darkened when she heard Karin's name, but she kept the tight smile on her face, "Nice to finally meet you."

Chouji also looked taken aback when he recognized that name, "Isn't she a prisoner of war?"

"For the time being, she is helping us heal the troops and so far doing an impressive job." Sakura smiled brightly at Karin, making the kunoichi blush and scratch her neck in embarrassment. "I am escorting her from dinner and back to her station. Like the rest of us, she has had a long day and needs to rest. So if you'll excuse us." She gently pushed Karin forward, continuing on their way.

Chouji scratched his temple in confusion, "I'm wondering if I heard that wrong, but did Sakura say that she took Karin to dinner then is bringing her back to her tent?"

"Something like that," mumbled Shikamaru. There was what he heard and then what he saw. Those empty spaces were quick to be filled by the two medic nins' interaction with each other.

Also with a careful eye, Ino watched Sakura push Karin away from the rest of them and down the dirt path, "Never would I have thought in a million years, to see those two together... all chummy and everything."

Shikamaru chuckled at Ino, "Yeah, just like you and Sakura having a cordial conversation without killing each other. Tell me this ten years ago and I would call you crazy."

When the two kunoichi arrived at the first aid station, they found a frantic Udon pacing outside the tent, about ready to have an aneurism. He stormed up to the redhead and yelled, "You said to Moegi-chan that you weren't going anywhere." He huffed and puffed while wagging a finger at Karin, "Where the hell did you go?"

Sakura stepped in front of Karin and tried to placate the boy, "She was with me getting something to eat, Udon-kun. There was no need to worry. Karin was supervised the entire time."

"The prisoner still lied and disobeyed an order to get what she wanted," He frowned at the redhead and peered through his glasses, "You're lucky Sakura-neesan was here to cover for you. Mind you, Karin-san, this will still go on our report."

"Oh wow, I'm shaking," droned Karin, who was not in the least bit intimidated by a genin with nasal allergies, "Life as I know it will end."

Smirking at Udon's over-reaction, Sakura turned to Karin with a whisper, "I better say good night then. If Ami and her girls bother you again-"

"I doubt they will," interrupted Karin and sneered, "But I'd be well within my rights to self-defense... Especially if it included rope, cuffs, and a safe word."

"Huh?" Udon stopped his rant when Sakura burst into laughter and walked away, fanning herself, "What was that about?"

"Just a little girl talk," said Karin as she watched Sakura leave, not paying any attention to Udon's suspicious glances at her and instead went inside to set up her bunk for the night.

"Girl talk?" echoed Udon. He watched Karin as she pushed equipment aside for some privacy of a makeshift bedroom and wondered... "You know I don't have to write up anything in my report that would prove inconsequential."

"Well, that's very magnanimous of you, snotty." Karin walked to the nearest stack of cots and picked the one on top.

Udon winced at the nickname then came back with a smile, "So you and Moegi-chan learned to get along in a short time."

"Yah, what of it?" She pulled out a wool blanket and small pillow from the storage chest then laid both on the cot

He waved his hands, "Nothing! Nothing! Just, um... with all that chatting you girls tend to do, did she happen to say anything about me?"

"Um, I think so." Karin took off her glasses and rolled her eyes at the stupid questions the snot-nosed kid kept peppering her with. She wished he would get to the fucking point.

"Like what?"

Karin sighed and rubbed her temples from the oncoming headache that was Udon, "What do you mean, like what? She's your teammate. What could she possibly say about you that you won't already know?"

"I mean... did she say anything about... you know..." Udon twisted one toe on the ground, too embarrassed to look the redhead in the eye.

Karin glared hatefully at the floundering boy and forced herself to continue the conversation, "No, no I don't."

He wiped his nose with one arm and mumbled softly, "Did Moegi-chan say anything about liking anyone?"

"Aw no, no, no," she pulled on her hair and moaned, "This is the last thing I want to deal with right now. I have not been nor will I ever be a matchmaker. Ask someone else who cares."

Udon crossed his arms and slumped his shoulders forward in a sulk, "Fine then, I will! Who asked you to deal with my love life anyway?"

"You just fuckin' did, you little shit!"

Udon blew his nose on a handkerchief then tried to pretend that Karin's indifference didn't hurt his feelings, "No need to get snippy."

If steam could blow out both ears, Karin would be a screaming tea kettle. Very few people could set off her temper in such a short time and Udon managed to climb up the list right under Suigestu. She snatched at for the stolen kunai hidden in the folds of her right pants leg, only to find it missing. She paused then patted the other thigh in case she moved it without thinking. Nope, not there either.

'Wait a minute...' Karin re-winded the past events in her mind since eating dinner. The only one who came close enough to lift the kunai off her was Sakura. The redhead counted the times they came in close contact and felt her cheeks heat up. 'Damn! And I call myself a kunoichi.'

"What are you doing?"

"Huh?" Blushing at the thought of Sakura's hands secretly wandering along her body, Karin forgot that Udon was near by watching the kunoichi pat down her body.

Udon's top lip curled at the way Karin quickly hid both hands behind her back, "Why were you groping your legs?"

Karin turned away from the genin so he couldn't see her face, "Never mind, snotty. You may not realize it, but thanks to Pink you get to live another day." She crawled into the cot and covered her head with the scratchy wool blanket.

Udon scratched his head as he went to his post at the tent door, wondering what the hell the prisoner was talking about, "Pink?"

Yawning from another long day, Sakura ducked into her tent and shrugged her green flak jacket onto a chair that stood beside a cot. She unhitched her weapons pouch, laid it with the jacket, and threw the Ami's kunai on top of the pile. She opened up her backpack to pull out a comb and mirror for her nightly ritual. As Sakura pulled the comb through knots and tangles, her inner self chatted at her from the reflection.

'So did we have fun on our dinner date?'

Sakura switched the comb to the right side, "It was not a date."

'Then what was with all the flirting,' teased Inner Sakura as her own hand ran the comb through their pink hair.

The real Sakura checked her skin for any new blemishes and sighed at the dark circles beneath her eyes, "I was not flirting, merely being friendly."

Inner Sakura sneered from the mirror, 'What about the kunai?'

Sakura put the comb and mirror onto the chair then settled onto her cot, "What about it?"

'You took your sweet time in getting it back,' From the mirror, Inner Sakura laid her head down on the pillow to look across at the real Sakura lying down on her own cot, "We knew where she hid it on the inside of her pants leg. Instead, you had to double check every nook and cranny.'

Sakura closed her eyes and mumbled into the pillow, "I had to be thorough. She may have picked up anything else."

'Sure, keep telling yourself that,' drawled Inner Sakura, 'But this is me you're talking to and I know you were having fun.'

Sakura reached over and turned the lamp off, "Good Night!"

….

Dawn came all too soon and there was a blast of morning trumpets from the speaker system that could wake the dead. Smacking her lips, Karin swung her feet over the cot's edge and pushed herself upright. She bent backwards, testing her spine and was met with a stinging pain, "Ugh, this is no way to live! At this rate, I'll be thirty and clutching my back moaning, 'Oh my lumbago!"

Moegi was the first to poke her head through the tent flap and chimed a far too cheery, "Good morning!" She raised a mug with steam rising from it, "I have coffee, Karin-san." The redhead walked from her cot and mumbled her thanks as she took the mug.

As they waited for Karin to pull herself together, Konohamaru and Udon stood outside of the tent to chat, "Did you hear the rumors about some Uchiha showing up to fight Naruto-niisan then disappearing again."

Karin stopped drinking her coffee and listened intently on their conversation. Moegi also slowed down on her unstacking of the cots and chairs to eavesdrop.

"Was it him? Was it Sasuke?" asked Udon.

"I don't know, the Hyuuga talking to us refused to say about anything else he saw. He said it was classified. Uchiha Sasuke! It's because of him that we're in this mess," Konohamaru crossed his arms and shook his head in disgust "As far as we're concerned, he's not worthy to have called himself Leaf or have someone as precious as Sakura-san."

"But that is not for us to decide," reminded Moegi as she pushed the flap wide open and secured it to the top, "Only Sakura-neesan can choose who to fall in love with and right now, she still loves the Uchiha."

Karin snarled from the thought of Sakura with Sasuke, "Any girl who falls for any Uchiha is doomed from the start. The sooner Pink realizes it, the better for her."

Udon sniffed as he watched Karin sulk in her coffee. He leaned close to Moegi and whispered, "She's been like this since last night. What's her problem?"

"Ignore her," said Moegi from behind one hand, "She's feeling a little jealous."

Konohamaru chuckled, "There's no need to be impolite just because she used to have a thing for the traitor."

"Yeah, and the operative words would be 'Used to'!" Karin finished off the dregs of her coffee and glared at the three, "If you don't mind, I have better things to do than gossip with genin."

"Bitchy, bitchy woman," sang Konohamaru then hit the dirt when a leg swung in the air only to stop a hair breath's away from making contact where his head used to be.

Karin slowly lowered her knee from mid-air and growled at the boy laying on the ground, "If you wanna keep your face intact, I'd recommend keeping your mouth shut and your ass a good three meters away. If fact why don't you-" She stopped in mid-sentence. Her eyes turned skyward and had a far away look. "Time to get to work."

Karin walked outside the tent with the three genin in time to see thousands of shinobi in the sky like a dark cloud to land on the ground with wounded carried in their arms or on their backs. The extraction teams and others simply chose a tent at random. It didn't matter where the dying shinobi were dropped off as long as there were friendly faces waiting. Karin was quick to grab the first one put in front of them and Moegi ran inside the tent to start setting up the cots and medical supplies.

Udon gaped at the sheer number of injured just lying on the ground before them, "These are worse than yesterday." He found one man critically injured and on the verge on unconsciousness. "Hey, don't leave him here! He needs jounin medics. This is just a first aid station." But the extraction teams ignored the genin, continued dumping the wounded, then took off for the battlefield again.

"No time," The captain shouted back, "There's more coming your way!"

Karin came up from behind Udon and ordered, "Bring him in!"

Konohamaru and Udon glanced at one another. Udon peered at her and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Do you want to carry him inside or watch him bleed to death?" Following her directions, the two boys carefully carried the man into the tent and set him down on the nearest cot.

With kunai at the ready, Konohamaru felt helpless as the other three worked hard to keep the injured alive, but he did keep a close eye on every one of the injured in case they were Zetsu clones in disguise. Udon worked on administering painkillers, directing Moegi to care for the lesser injured, then cleaning and wrapping wounds while Karin concentrated on the one shinobi near death.

"Tch," Karin reared back in disgust, "It's not working." It had been nearly twenty minutes and she wasn't making a difference fast enough, only slowing down his death. Kabuto would have been proud.

Udon stopped wrapping a kunoichi's arm and gestured from Moegi to take over. He hurried to Karin's side and asked, "What's wrong?"

Karin shook her head in frustration, "He's bleeding internally and my standard jutsu can't seem to reach it from this end."

"Maybe we should get help from the jounin medics." Udon glanced at his teammate and gestured at the tent exit, "Moegi-chan, go to the closest surgery and ask if any of them can spare some time."

"No," Karin cut in and raised a warning hand, making Moegi stop in her tracks, "I can do this! Just let me try from another angle." She switched to the other side of the cot and pressed her glowing hands closer to the man's body.

Sakura was on her way to Surgery Tent Five when she passed by the first aid station and heard Karin's shout. She ducked inside the tent to see if she could be of some help, "Perhaps I can be of assistance?"

"I've got this, Pink," growled Karin without looking up from the patient, "You don't have to hold my hand all the time... Fuckin hell. Just not close enough."

Udon lowered his voice so as not to further alarm the other shinobi still recovering, "A man's life is at stake here, Karin-san. This is no time to worry about your professional pride."

Karin shot him a nasty look then looked back at the patient to realize he was right. "Shit. So much for conserving my chakra." She wrapped an arm behind the man's shoulders to prop him up, held her wrist in front of his mouth, and demanded, "Bite me."

Udon nearly lost his glasses, "Karin-san!"

"No seriously, I'm ordering you to bite on my wrist. If you want to live, that's what you have to do." All present looked at each other in confusion then at Sakura to add some sanity to the situation.

"Don't look at her, look at me," Karin held her wrist back in front of him, "If you don't, then I might as well stab that kunai into your heart and end the pain now. There are others who need healing beside you."

With a disgusted frown, the man shut his eyes tight and lunged for her wrist.

Moegi gasped and quickly covered her eyes. When she didn't hear any painful screaming, the genin peeked from between her fingers, expecting some gruesome scene only to find the medic glaring at the patient, who despite at Death's door, managed to look up at Karin with a sheepish expression.

Karin glared down at him and patiently waited for the familiar pressure only to feel his teeth merely pressing against the top layer and sucking at her wrist, no real force to break the skin. He wasn't gonna get any healing that way. She leaned to his level and peered one red eye at him, "What's the matter with you? You got a full set of teeth. Bite, damn it!" She used her other hand to whack him upside the head.

He reacted on instinct and sunk his teeth into her wrist. Everyone watched the man recover before their eyes, fascinated as the wound seemed to heal itself from the inside out.

However, Sakura noticed the slow change in expressions in Karin and the man's face. He went from disgust to a strange wonderment as the pain eased and his body regained strength. The irritation of Karin's face dissipated, leaving a lazy glaze in her red eyes. She remained relaxed until shaking the man free from her wrist.

"Don't be so greedy. That's more than enough for you. Alright, who's next?" Karin slowly laid the man back onto the cot then tried to stand.

"Hang on there." Sakura quickly grabbed a hold of the weakened medic before she crashed, but Karin pushed her aside.

"I-I'm just a little dizzy. That's all," She wobbled a bit in an attempt to move toward the next patient then fell on her ass. "Maybe I will sit for a second," she said trying to save face.

"I'll take your place for now, Karin. Rest, you did good." Sakura pulled open a folding chair and helped her into it.

….

In a makeshift lab tent, Shizune slowly squeezed a drop of ink out of a syringe on a glass slide then placed a clear film on top. It was an illusive sample the Shikamaru was able to harvest from one of the shinobi entrapped within the Impure Resurrection Jutsu. Ino stood beside her and nervously watched the process. Shizune lifted the slide up to the light, checking for anything out of the ordinary with her naked eye. That was when Sakura burst into the tent and went straight for her superior.

"Shizune-neesan!"

Still intent on the sample, Shizune politely replied, "Hello, Sakura-chan. What's wrong? Are we under attack again?"

"Nothing's wrong. Far from it." Sakura fidgeted in front the brunette and blurted, "I need a favor."

"Depends on what it is." Shizune took the slide then walked over to the other side of the tent where a microscope waited for her.

Sakura followed the brunette, "Could we either transfer me to a surgery tent further down or Karin moved to a first aid station closer to us? Please?"

The older woman calmly sat down at the other table, placed the slide under the microscope, and switched the lenses, "Whatever for, Sakura?"

Sakura glanced around the tent to make sure no one else was listening in then whispered, "I just witnessed her specialty." Ino started to laugh then turned it into a cough when Sakura shot her a dirty look.

Unimpressed by this revelation, Shizune twisted the focus wheel a touch more and droned, "There's nothing special about using medical jutsu, Sakura. You, Ino, and I know how to the exact same thing-"

Frustrated from the lack of cooperation, Sakura hissed, "Not that. The other one... with the biting."

Shizune finally lifted her head from the microscope to finally look Sakura in the eye, "Ah. And just what do you hope to accomplish?"

"I want to study her- IT!" Sakura blustered in correcting herself, "I want to study it. See if her ability can be replicated some how. Imagine the possibilities!"

Ino sneered knowingly, "You just want to stalk her."

Sakura put one hand on her hip then turned on the smirking blond, "What are you talking about, Ino?"

Ino looked away and shined her nails on her flak jacket, "Nothing. It's not like I'll say anything about who you want to hang with."

Sakura reached out, spun Ino back around, and wagged a nagging finger at the blond, "No, I want to know. You and I have been best friends and pain in each other's asses for as long as we can remember. Little white lies are one thing, but you could at least try to be honest with me."

"It's not a big deal really," said Ino nonchalantly as she walked for the exit as Sakura chased after her, "I just thought that you were gonna take Karin up on that crush she has on you. That's all." The blond girl smiled as she left her best friend to digest on that fun bit of gossip.

Sakura stood frozen in mid-step with eyes wide, "Sh-she has a crush on me?"


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own Naruto nor make any profit from it

Okay, this is the actual chapter five update. Didn't mean to surprise you like that last week. (Hangs head in shame) My bad!

I hope you enjoy!

Chapter Five

When Sakura woke from her shock, she called after her friend, "Ino! Wait a minute, is this another one of your jokes? You have a lousy sense of humor, you know." She tried to follow after Ino for more information, but a stern voice ordered her to stop.

"Not so fast! We're not finished here, Sakura," Shizune set up a folding chair next to hers and directed the girl back into the tent, "Please, sit down."

Glaring at Ino's disappearing back, Sakura reluctantly returned inside and sat across from the jounin medic, "Yes, Shizune-neesan."

The brunette looked down at the young kunoichi and carefully chose her words, "You have to admit your request is rather unusual. We try to observe a shinobi's abilities passively or in a controlled environment. Now that you've heard Ino-chan's gossip, have you changed your mind about observing Karin?"

Sakura took a moment to think then sighed, "No, I suppose not. Although, I'm not sure how to approach her now."

"You and me both," replied Shizune as she scratched her head, "I wish Anko or even Kurenai were here to help you. They're much better teachers in seduction. Those type of missions were never my forte."

"Seduction? Must it come to that?" Sakura felt like sinking in her seat and imagined the fallout. Ino was a walking rumor mill. It wouldn't take long for word to spread that Sakura requested for more time with Karin and once it reached the redhead's ears, she would get the wrong impression.

Inner Sakura smiled mischievously, 'Why would that be so bad? In fact it could make plying information out of her much easier.'

Shizune lifted an elbow to the table and rested her chin on one hand, "I don't see why not. You've used charm to accomplish missions before."

Feeling more unsure about herself by the minute, Sakura winced at the thought of seducing a woman who was a rival for her Sasuke-kun, "Well, yes..."

The older woman smiled and gave Sakura a friendly pat on the knee, "There's no difference if the object of affection is male or female. It shouldn't be a problem."

Sakura stood up from her chair and put both hands on her hips, "Oh I'd say it's a big problem since I'm not attracted to girls."

Shizune raised her eyebrows, "So?"

"Huh?"

The brunette chuckled and gave the younger a sly smile, "I've seen you wrap Lee around your finger many times and we all know you're not in the least bit attracted to him."

Sakura shuffled her feet in embarrassment, "Maybe, but it's so easy to pull a snow job on Lee. Karin is different."

"How so," prodded Shizune.

Sakura sat back down to think, "For starters, she's street-smart, cynical, demented even and uh-"

'You like her,' insinuated Inner Sakura from out of nowhere.

"I like her." It was out in the open before the real Sakura realized the words were out of her mouth. Inner Sakura snickered as the real one floundered, "She's fun to hang around. Yes, she likes to talk tough, but Karin is a nice girl deep down. If the past had been different, we could easily have been friends. Just friends! Not girlfriends... that sleep with each other... as lovers in intimate embrace each night. Not that there's anything wrong with it. I'm just not into that. With a girl, I mean-"

Shizune rubbed one temple in irritation and held up one palm, "Okay, Sakura-chan. Stop right there before you embarrass the both of us even further."

Sakura's head dropped in a curtain of pink hair, "Gomen."

Putting her chin on one hand, Shizune studied the chuunin long and hard until she sighed, "Alright."

Sakura looked up, "Alright to what?"

"You're assigned to Karin's first aid station for the next two weeks." Shizune took out a notepad, wrote an official order for Sakura then made a copy for the rosters, "If I need help in the surgery, I'll send for you. Take your time in getting to know Karin and perhaps about yourself." Before Sakura could ask Shizune what that last bit meant, the brunette shooed her out the tent.

…..

After taking a short cat nap, a groggy Karin woke up to see that most of the patients had been moved from the first aid tent, either to the intensive care or their own tents for recovery. The last few were getting help from the three genin in gathering their personal items and fresh medical supplies.

A headache pounded through her cranium and her stomach grumbled for attention, but Karin managed to stand, "How did things go while I was out?"

"Just fine," said Udon as he handed the last shinobi a new roll of gauze for his arm, "Sakura-neesan was able to fix everybody else up, but she couldn't stay long. She said something about having to go talk with Shizune-san."

"Always on the run and busy as a bee, that one," Konohamaru added with a hint of pride in his voice, "But Sakura-neesan never gives up on her patients."

"I can't help but notice that you and Sakura-neesan are a lot alike," said Moegi then stuttered from the nasty glare Karin shot at her, "B-besides the obvious, I mean... about Sasuke."

"Right there is the big difference between me and her," Karin rubbed both temples with healing chakra and snarled from the memory of Sasuke's jutsu piercing her heart, "I'm a fast learner. You guys better get a move on in cleaning up, your precious neesan is heading this way."

Moegi squeaked and helped Udon in cleaning up the tent while Konohamaru peeked out the tent flap. He saw Sakura slowly walking down the footpath with her arms full of food trays. The boy reached out in time to grab one of two large trays then held open the flap for Sakura.

"Hello everyone. I hope you're all hungry cause it's dinner time!" The pink-haired kunoichi carefully walked into the tent carrying a tray full of covered food plate, "For all the hard work you guys did today, I arranged a special a treat from the cooks. These are made to rejuvenate the drained chakra of a medic nin." She and Konohamaru placed the trays on a fold out table then Sakura lifted the lids to reveal the steaming food, "Each one of these dishes are from my personal recipes and cooked to my specifications!" She looked back around to find three puffs of smoke rising from the ground and only a confused Karin wondering what happened.

"That's some trick," Karin nodded as she walked up to Sakura and perused over the meal, "You managed to get rid of all three of them in less than three seconds. I'm impressed."

"Hmph!" Sakura huffed at the indignation of her subordinates turning down all her hard work, "This was supposed to be treat for them too. It wasn't easy to convince the cooks to do all this."

Karin smiled at the other girl and picked up a set of chopstick, "Hey! If they don't want it, I would only be too happy to eat their shares. Itadakimasu!" She picked up a delicious looking onigiri and took a hearty bite, right down to the middle.

Sakura watched Karin chew once... twice then swallow. There was delayed response, most likely due to the fact that Karin was in dire need of sustenance. But no amount of hunger would stop Karin from doubling over and puffing out her cheeks from regurgitated food.

After spitting out the last of the bite in an empty bowl, Karin pointed at the serving plate in horror, "What the fucking hell is in this?"

"Let's see," Sakura pulled out a couple tea cups from her medic apron and set them on the table, "If memory serves me right, there should be lingzhi powder, dragon turtle extract, some grated glutinous yam and some various other herbs. You know, eye of newt, hair of dog type stuff. All of these herbs are usually difficult to some by, but I had some ready to make some emergency medicine balls. Proper nutrients are key to regenerating one's chakra."

Karin's face grew increasing green by the second and she whispered, "You wouldn't happen to know a twisted bastard by the name of Kabuto, would you?"

Sakura tapped her bottom lip in thought, "Now that you mention it-"

"No, no need to say anymore," Karin covered her mouth with both hands and ran for the exit.

To the sounds of retching coming from behind the tent fabric, Sakura lifted up the plate and sniffed the food, "Smells fine to me. I don't understand it. Maybe the cook didn't do it right." Sakura picked up a piece then bit into the rice ball.

One green eye popped, her mouth scrunched into a tight pucker, then she pounded on her chest until the food chunk slid down her throat. "Yup!" Sakura poured herself a cup of oolong tea to cleanse her palette, "He did it right."

When Karin came back, Sakura patted the space next to her and poured a cup a tea for the both of them, "Welcome back. I didn't get a chance to tell you right away, but I have really great news!"

Karin paused in the middle of raising the cup to her lips and narrowed her red eyes, "Does it involve anything edible?"

Sakura laughed, "No, silly!"

The redhead nodded and continued to lift the tea, "Then go right ahead."

"The big new is... I'm going to be working here from now on," exclaimed Sakura and stretched her arms out to hug Karin, expecting the redhead to rush into her arms and squeal with delight like the many times she shared good news with Ino.

Karin calmly took another gulp of tea.

The pink-haired kunoichi pressed further, "In this tent. You know, with you. The two of us working, side by side? This is supposed to be exciting and you're not excited. You're not even reacting in the slightest." The pink-haired kunoichi put her arms down and slumped in disappointment.

Karin finished her tea and put the cup down, completely stoic, "Should I?"

Whistling, Inner Sakura slid her hand downward then made the sound of a bomb going off. 'What's with this cutesy crap? She is not Lee who gets a nosebleed if you so much as wink at him. You need to be sexy and sophisticated.'

"Right, right," Sakura mumbled to herself and twiddled her thumbs nervously, "Um, I figured you should have fair warning since I will be sleeping in here from now on. It might get a little cozy with the two of us, alone together on cold nights."

Inner Sakura rolled her eyes, 'You're trying too hard. Act naturally!'

"I'm fine with that," said Karin plainly while poking a chopstick into what looked like a completely innocent bowl of noodles, "I've had to share bedding with other people before."

Sakura was taken aback at how casual Karin was with sharing personal space. "Really? Have you had to share with guys," She stared hard at her fiddling hands, trying not to look the other kunoichi in the eye.

Deciding it wasn't worth another round of puking, Karin put the chopsticks down then folded her arms and crossed both legs, "Don't get your panties in a twist, babe. I didn't sleep with Sasuke-kun, if that's what you're asking. Believe me, I tried! But things never went according to plan."

"Hmmm," Sakura thought about her own teenage daydreams and nodded sadly, "I know that feeling all too well."

Karin laid a hand on the other's shoulder and gave her a gentle shove, "Aw, don't look so down, Pink. With the two of us in one place, this station will be just as good as any surgery and if we don't step on each other's toes, we should be fine."

Sakura brightened up right away and smiled at the redhead. Karin felt a blush rise when she found herself sitting closer to the other kunoichi. Sakura's true smile was mesmerizing, cheeks flushed a delicate petal pink and her lips looked so warm and inviting. The overall effect was like a light shining from within the girl. Karin could feel her heart flutter and didn't realize just how she openly focused on Sakura's lips with longing and intent.

On the other hand, Sakura couldn't help but notice, 'Uh oh. I know that look! Ino was right. She does have a crush on me!' Sakura had seen that expression of want on Lee and Naruto so many times. Blocking their moves had become second nature for her. But this was Karin and Sakura found herself panicking on what to do next.

'Make the first move. You can do it,' encouraged Inner Sakura, 'Remember your orders.'

Sakura took a deep breath and gathered her courage. Feeling clumsy and anxious, she rested one hand on the bench then leaned closer to the redhead.

Karin's eyes grew wide when she realized what Sakura was attempting. She hesitated for a moment then tilted forward to meet her. Their lips were barely a breath apart when-

"Sakura-chan! Yo, are you in there?" Someone wandered outside the first aid station and the tent flap began to open.

Both girls pulled apart lightening fast and jumped from their seats. Kakashi peered inside the tent and gave them a smile from under the mask, "Ah there you are, Sakura-chan."

"Kaka-senpai," Sakura cleared her throat and rushed to greet her old sensei, "What are you doing here?"

Kakashi stood outside the tent, with one hand in his pocket and the other holding up an Icha-Icha book, "My squad came back for a few hours. The usual restocking our supplies before we have to head back out. I thought I would check up on my favorite student."

The pink-haired kunoichi put one hand on her hip and sneered, "I though Naruto was your favorite."

"Him too."

She chuckled at his lame excuse, "Right, so why are you really here?"

He shrugged and snapped his book closed, "A little birdie told me that you might be taking Karin under your wing."

Sakura raised an eyebrow at him, "Is that so? Would this little birdie have long blond hair and blue eyes."

Kakashi hummed playfully, "That information is classified. I've been sworn to absolute secrecy on pain of death."

Sakura clenched her fists and snarled, "Ino-pig, I'll get her for this!"

"I happen to think it's a good idea."

She paused to process what her sensei said, "Which one, Ino or Karin?"

"About Karin," He looked up to the red sun setting low in the sky and thought about the years that have gone by too quickly, "Naruto has an amazing ability change an enemy's heart and mind, especially one that is already conflicted. One of the ways he manages that is by taking the time to listen. Karin is the type that can go either way. Don't push, listen when she's ready to talk, and most importantly... take your time." His one visible eye held her gaze meaningfully before he started to walk away, "Later!"

Sakura stood outside the tent as she watched Kakashi saunter down the path. It was the most odd and covert way of giving seduction advice, but any other way would have been extremely awkward for both.

"I suppose, I better get back to it." Sakura walked inside to find Karin stomping around, putting the cots back into place, "What's going on?"

"We got more coming in. It was a nice break, but..." Karin set the last cot down then slapped a hand on Sakura's back, "Nose to the grindstone, babe."

...

Under the cover of night, the extraction teams brought in more wounded shinobi. This particular wave was much easier to treat. They were not nearly as ripped to shreds as the others, but suffering more from exhaustion and sleep deprivation. The patients were only too happy for a safe place to sleep while receiving healing for minor wounds. As they went about their task, Karin could feel Sakura's gaze linger on her from time to time. Karin was flattered from the attention, but she reminded herself not to get her hopes up. Romance for her had a bad habit of going tits up.

Sakura came from behind and tapped the redhead medic on the shoulder. She bowed slightly then handed Karin a bundle of clean clothes, "Here you go, thought you could use a change. I hope you don't mind."

Karin looked at the gift wrapped in simple brown paper and said, "I suppose, thanks." Karin unwrapped the package and rolled out a simple dark blue button up uniform shirt with matching pants.

"I wasn't sure about your size, but we seemed to about the same," Sakura shuffled her feet as the redhead stared at her, "I was about to head out for some snacks. Would you like anything? Tea or coffee?"

Karin and her patient side-glanced at each other. She slowly responded, "Tea will be fine."

"Okay," said Sakura in a somewhat breathless manner. She quickly rattled off some instructions to Udon before rushing out the tent.

"Well that was weird," mumbled Karin as she returned to treating her patient. It took a good five minutes before she realized what was behind Sakura's odd behavior.

'Kami-sama,' The chakra around Karin's hands flickered as she nearly lost focus on healing the shinobi's broken kneecap, 'I'm being courted!' A pained groan from the patient reminded Karin that she needed to finish her job. She rushed through knitting the flesh back together then slapped a salve and bandage on top.

The guy winced from the sloppy dressing and grumbled, "Bedside manners could use some work."

"Oh you'll be fine, you big baby," Karin turned, cupped a hand to her mouth and checked her breath, Oh shit shit shit, my breath reeks of vomit! And to think I nearly kissed her earlier!'

"Hey," She leaned down and whispered at the man trying to recuperate, "You wouldn't happen to have any gum on ya'?" He cracked one eye open and glared his irritation.

"Right," She waved a hand and stood up, "Forget I asked."

Karin sidled next to the young kunoichi in pigtails, who was taking inventory and whispered, "Oi, Moegi. Can you cover for me? I really need to hit the showers."

Moegi hemmed and hawed, "I don't think so. You're not allowed to go anywhere alone, even the bathroom. I have to go with you. Then Konohamaru-kun and Udon will have to cover for the both of us."

Karin tried giving the girl her most innocent smile, "Tch, I won't be gone for more than fifteen minutes. You don't have to tell them."

"Unfortunately, I do. Wait right here." To Karin's dismay, Moegi went to confer with her teammates and bristled under their stern gazes thrown in her direction.

Karin tapped her feet while trying to figure out what to do, 'Come on, Karin. You been in worse situations before. Adapt, damn it.' She found a somewhat full glass of water sitting on a side table. After snatching that, Karin dug through a supply chest and grabbed a hygiene care kit. She used the mini-toothbrush and toothpaste to get rid of the puke-breath and fuzzy film on her teeth. Then she swished the water around her mouth while heading for the front exit. The tent flap flew open as Karin stuck her head out and spat the toothpaste on the ground... at the feet of a group of jounin passing by the station.

Thankfully, they were nimble enough to jump before being blasted by spit. Karin nervously licked her lips as she saw the angry looks on their faces, "Uh... you don't wanna step in that." Then the redhead quickly ducked back inside where it was safe.

She then searched the hygiene kit for wet wipes and deodorant. All she found was a bottle of talcum powder, "It'll have to do." Karin found a quiet corner then turned a cot on it's end for some privacy. Once the cot was balanced, she started shaking the powder under her clothes, making sure to hit her pits.

Moegi came peeking from behind the cot, "Karin-san, are you alright?"

Karin put the talcum powder down and began putting on the clothes from Sakura, "You wouldn't let me freshen up properly with a shower. So I had to improvise."

"B-but this," Moegi held up the powder bottle and pointed to the label, "This is flea powder."

She squinted from behind her glasses, took a closer look at the bottle, and screamed, "Why the hell is flea powder doing in our medical supplies?"

Moegi did her best not to giggle, but failed, "We have dog-nin that need attention too. They have their own vet stations, but it's best to be prepared."

Karin sniffed her shirt which did have a faint medical scent and she sighed, "A la bitch... I'll just have to make it work."

By the time Sakura walked into the tent, Karin was sitting at the side of a patient, checking his blood pressure. She was deceptively clean and composed. Not suspecting a thing, Sakura handed the redhead a steaming cup of green tea, "I have your tea, Karin."

Karin coolly looked up from her task,"Hmmm? Oh thank you, Pink. I nearly forgot about that." She took the mug from Sakura and sipped it carefully.

Sakura noted Karin's change of clothes and pointed out, "Those look good on you. I'm glad I got them. Since things have calmed down around here, would you like to go for a walk? It's really nice outside."

"Sure," Karin grinned while she followed Sakura through the tent. As they went past the three genin, the redhead leaned behind Sakura's back and stuck her tongue out.

Moegi gasped at the insult as Udon murmured, "Am I missing something?"

Konohamaru narrowed his dark brown eye in suspicion, "Hell if I know."


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own Naruto nor make any profit from it

Chapter Six

The two kunoichi ducked under the flap and walked into fresh night air. Sakura was about to turn left when Karin tugged Sakura on the arm, stopping her from stepping into a small foamy puddle, "Careful, someone spit there."

Sakura peered at the ground as Karin guided her in the opposite direction, "Ew!"

"I know right," Karin sneered while they strolled down the path, "Some people are just disgusting. So where are we going?"

"Just a little spot I go to when I need to recharge. A good place for some peace and quiet. We can turn at the corner." They kept walking until reaching the outskirts of the camp then slowed their pace to casually meander among the tall pine trees. Aside from the occasional chuunin on patrol, there was no one around but the plants, nocturnal animals, and them. The moon shone brightly in the dark sky and streams of soft light dotted the sloping hillside. A couple of gray squirrels with long fluffy tails chased one another in a playful game of tag.

Sakura presented her little bit of calm paradise with an outstretched hand, "Here we are. Would you like to sit down with me?"

Taking in the sight of the pillar-like trees towering over her head, Karin shrugged, "Sure." She looked down for a dry patch of grass, but Sakura pulled her to one side.

"Allow me," A smug Sakura strolled to a fallen tree trunk resting against a neighboring tree. She tightened her black gloves then positioned herself under the log. With a heave, the petite medic lifted the log and hauled it to a more open area. "There we are," The log landed with a soft thud, "Have a seat."

"Thanks," Karin found a spot clear of branches and sat next to Sakura. She took in a deep breath of the air and savored the taste and smells that blended in old growth forests. It reminded her of the days of Hebi running wild and free yet incredibly focused on their mission... before joining the Akatsuki... when she had real freedom.

Missing those adrenalin-filled days, Karin looked upwards at the moon and murmured, "It's a very nice night."

Sakura hummed as she closed her eyes and felt the gentle breeze brush against her skin, "Very nice. So far the weather has been cooperating and hopefully that will work in our favor." It was a simple phrase that everyone around camp used so often, that it spilled from her mouth automatically.

"Or it could work in our favor," Glancing to the side, Karin smirked at the momentary shock reflected on Sakura's face and the redhead wagged a warning finger, "Don't forget. I used to work for the other side. Anyways, this isn't the time. We need to stop thinking so much, especially about this stupid war."

Sakura nodded, "You're right."

As they sat in companionable silence, Sakura might have been watching the stars above, but her mind was a jumble mess of what to do next. She felt her heart beat increase to a rapid pace and doubts began to rise in her mind. All the nervous fluttering building inside had Sakura blushing a bright pink. She wished there was some seduction manual to memorize, making this assignment so much easier. But like any mission, this could go all wrong and end up biting her in the ass.

Sakura winced at the thought of Karin finding the truth, 'What if she figured out that I was only manipulating her for information? Would she be hurt? Could I even handle a furious girlfriend?'

Inner Sakura snickered from within the depths of her mind, 'For a straight girl, you're already thinking of her as your girlfriend. Ain't that something.'

The real Sakura grumbled at her inner voice, 'You could make yourself useful instead of tossing snarky comments the entire time. It was your idea to pursue this. What am I supposed to do when seducing another girl?'

Inner Sakura wagged a finger, 'You're over-analyzing the situation. You don't see her freaking out, do you? Besides did the thought ever occur that she might be playing you too?'

Sakura paused then felt her ego deflate like a balloon, 'Well, it has now!'

'Then don't worry about what might happen tomorrow. Do what you always wished Sasuke-kun would do with you. Remember, there's nothing like a romantic kiss on a moonlit night. So relax, cuddle up with your date, and enjoy the moment.'

Sakura looked up at the moon and prayed for a bit of luck. She bit her lower lip and her fingers slowly crawled over the cracked tree-bark to touch Karin's fingertips.

Karin was slightly startled to feel something soft brush on her skin and she glanced down to find Sakura's palm gently crossing over her hand. She scooted even closer to Sakura and enclosed the pink-haired kunoichi's hand in her own. Karin reached up with her free hand and pulled off her clunky glasses.

Sakura got a clear view of Karin's bright red eyes for the first time without a layer of glass in the way. They were so much like Sasuke's when he fought or when he was feeling especially cocky in front of Naruto. The big difference now was that the eyes looking into her own had the missing element of attraction.

'Maybe this will be easier than I thought,' Sakura held her breath as they drew near to one another.

Closing her eyes, Karin bent forward and tilted her own head to fit perfectly with Sakura's lips. The kiss started out warm, gentle and soft. Her lips tasted sweet and tender, but Karin wanted to feel more. Sensing Sakura's hesitancy, the redhead took the lead by cupping a hand along Sakura's chin the she found it easy to coaxed the other to deepen the0 kiss.

'Oh my,' Sakura was surprised by her reaction to Karin's vigorous lips. She felt a definite spark that grew stronger as the kiss grew longer. Everything she had imagined for the most romantic kiss of her life was not with the man of her dreams, but a woman she met mostly by accident.

When they broke apart, Karin nuzzled her nose against Sakura's and whispered, "You've seen how my kekkei genkai can work, right?" She waited for Sakura to nod then continued, "There's something I really should explain to you, but it should be in private. Hopefully, the three idiots should have the tent cleared by now."

A smile crossed Sakura's face as she increased her grip on Karin's hand, "And I can take over guard duty until morning."

"Sounds like a plan." Karin and Sakura leaned in for another kiss when they heard a small twig snap from afar. A squirrel came barreling through a bush from below and startled both girls to their feet. Another rustle from behind the squirrel told them a person was heading their way.

"Hello," shouted a woman's voice as the footsteps got louder, "Sakura-chan, are you there?"

Sakura exchanged a glance with Karin before stepping away from the log and letting go of Karin's hand, "Shizune-neesan?"

Shizune came trudging through the trees and motioned for the pink-haired medic to follow her, "I need to speak to you." She nodded in Karin's direction, "If you'll excuse us for a minute." They walked a few feet away but kept Karin in their view.

"What's the matter," asked Sakura.

"New orders from the Hokage," said Shizune plainly, "I'm sorry. I know what I said earlier, but there's been a change in plans. Not enough of the casualties are making it to camp and we need more medics in the fight. Sai is waiting for you at the north side of camp. He will take you to the rest of the team and I'll escort Karin back."

Sakura nodded then made her way back to the redhead, "Looks like you have to go back to the tent alone."

Karin's heart sunk like a stone, "What?" Then she felt Sakura's hand slip into hers and give it a soft squeeze.

"I gotta go," she glance down from feeling terribly guilty and looked at Karin from under her pink lashes, "They need me."

"Oh right, right," Karin tried to brush off her embarrassment and disappointment with a haughty smile, "We're kunoichi first, of course. Go out there and kick some ass." She gave Sakura a light punch on the shoulder and a half-hearted chuckle. Sakura was about to turn, but Karin followed after her.

"Wait," She grabbed Sakura by the shirt and pulled her in for one more kiss. They ignored Shizune's awkward shuffling in the background.

Karin pulled from the kiss far enough to look straight into Sakura's green eyes and murmur, "Come back in one piece, okay?"

'Boy, now I know how Naruto feels,' Sakura ignored the nagging guilt and smiled brightly for Karin's benefit, "Of course I will!" Then she turned and with a burst of chakra to her feet, Sakura jumped into the trees and headed to where Sai waited.

Karin watched the figure run into the shadows of the upper branches and despite the lack of visual contact, her red eyes turned as Sakura's signature changed directions.

Shizune walked up the hill until she stood next to the redhead and she studied the worry lines growing across Karin's face, 'Wow, Sakura-chan has made amazing progress with her... Maybe a little too much. It might be a bit hard for Naruto to swallow, but as long as he doesn't get wind of this, everything should be fine.'

"Shall we," prompted Shizune and she watched Karin's proud haughty mask return, quick as a wink.

"Let's go," snapped Karin. She barely acknowledged her new guard, only marched forward toward the gilded cage that she had grown to hate, but dare not leave now.

As the encampment's lights and noise grew stronger, her bitterness and irritation grew with every step, 'Left behind again,' Karin kicked a rock into a bush which flushed out a blackbird, 'Why does this keep happening to me?'

…..

Juugo searched the trees as they lurked around the foothills of the mountain near the Akatsuki base. Admittedly, it was a safe hangout from the shinobi nations, but not exactly an ideal place to stay. All those Zetsu clones growing like mad to replace previous clones made him, a fearsome monster, uneasy. The last thing Juugo needed at this point was to become unstable in there. He might not know anything about this Tobi guy, but to run rampant and challenge any living thing in his path would tantamount to a very painful destruction.

After discussing his thoughts with Suigetsu, the other had to agree and they took off on their own the first chance they got. Juugo wanted to stay within the comfort zone that the Zetsu Army had secured, but he do not like being separated from his teammates, especially Sasuke.

"We've been looking for those damn swords for a while now, Suigetsu. Shouldn't we be looking for orders from the other Akatsuki? At least, find Sasuke and Karin?"

Suigetsu snorted at the very thought, "Karin could go fuck herself for all I care. If Sasuke or Tobi-san needed us, they would have contacted us by now. As far as I'm concerned, we're free agents."

"Then why are we continue to wear the cloaks?"

Suigetsu looked up at Juugo with tired eyes, "Please, we all know how this war is going to end and I would prefer to be wearing the winner's colors." He lifted the edge of the black with red clouds cloak and waved it like a winner's flag.

Juugo frowned then slowly surveyed the area, "Whether or not the Akatsuki win, we need to be careful and not get caught up in the conflict. These are the borders of the battlefields and who knows what we'll encounter."

"Too true! Why don't you do some scouting and send some critters on ahead for us. In the meantime, you can cook us up some grub." Suigetsu plopped under a tree and made himself comfortable.

Juugo frowned at his lazy partner and turned to find some animal tracks, "I never thought that I would miss Karin."

It was dark when a couple of gray squirrels came jumping out of the trees and landed on Juugo's shoulder. Suigetsu sat up from his spot and waited for any news.

Careful not to tip the animals into the stew he was working on, Juugo reached over and let the squirrel crawl into his hand. He listened carefully as the tiny creature sat in his palm and chattered at him. He thought about the information then said aloud, "There's a huge encampment of many kinds of ninja, likely the Joint Shinobi Forces. Several of Zetsu's clones have infiltrated, but remain hidden."

Suigetsu sneered, "Really? You got all that from, 'Chee-chee, chitter-chatter?"

Putting the animal down, Juugo glared slightly at his partner and clarified, "It was more like, he saw lots of humans nesting and among them are humans who look like humans, but smell like plants."

"Oh...Hmph, Zetsu is one busy dude." Suigetsu put both hands behind his head and laid back down on the ground.

The squirrel on the other shoulder began chattering it's short report at Juugo then it took off to find more tasty acorns.

Juugo took a few minutes to fully digest the information then returned to stirring the pot of stew, "That's... interesting."

Suigetsu cracked one eye open, "What is?"

"I think," Juugo leaned forward to get a whiff of the stew then continued to stir, "That Karin was taken prisoner by the Joint Shinobi Army and is in their camp at this very moment."

Suigetsu waved a dismissive hand, "Bah, Karin would never leave Sasuke and there's tons of other kunoichi running around. How can you tell it was talking about her?"

Juugo hummed in thought, "The girl was described as having a nasty temper along with eyes and hair that matched. Not very many people are like that."

"I've been known to kick a bunny or two myself. A good stress buster. And what the hell do you mean by matching eyes and hair? Animals are supposed to be colorblind, nitwit. Can't be her." Suigetsu tightened his cloak around his body and curled up to catch a nap, "I'm beat. Wake me up when dinner's ready."

Juugo frowned as Suigetsu shrugged off the squirrel's news, "They can't tell the difference between red and green, but they have a basic understanding of colors." There was no response from the dark mound, so the gentle giant turned back to the stew pot and softly sighed to no one in particular, "It also mentioned that the girl reeked like rotten eggs."

Suigetsu jumped straight up from the ground, "HOLY CRAP! IT'S HER!"

…..

Day after day for about a week, Karin watched Sakura come in with wounded then taking off again, not even bothering to eat a decent meal or catch a cat nap. It was hard to see the girl push herself to the brink of exhaustion and there was nothing Karin could do to help. The evenings were especially unbearable when Karin could feel her signature in the camp, but Sakura never stopped by for lack of time.

"I wonder what's going on out there," muttered Konohamaru as he stood guard outside the tent on one particularly foggy night, "We're so damn close to the action and we're not seeing any results except for the injured dropped off. All this waiting around is killing me."

Moegi stood beside him and reminded the boy, "I know you might feel useless right now, Konohamaru-kun, but we do need you here. How are these people going to get better if no one is here to guard them?"

As she listened from inside the tent, Karin had the same anxious feelings. For some reason, she felt she should be out there in the heat of battle, not sitting in relative safety. But that would also bring up a thorny question. Which side would she fight for. 'With the Akatsuki? Hah, like I'd fall for that load of bullshit. I could always go rogue again. Juugo and Suigetsu are obviously out there, laying low and surviving as usual. Those two could still be following Akatsuki orders, but that's doubtful. That leaves one last choice.'

On the far side of camp, three of Team Seven arrived to bring their teammate for medical attention. A Naruto clone cradled Sakura in his arms as they walked down the paths between the tents, "Are you sure about this, Sakura-chan? There is a bigger tent filled with doctors right here."

She coughed then wheezed with a scratchy voice, "No need to bother them. They're needed for the severe cases. Keep going until you find First Aid station One and ask for Karin."

The clone nearly dropped Sakura and exclaimed, "Karin? As in Karin from the Akatsuki? What are you nuts?"

"We're here," Sai pointed to the correct tent, lifted the flap, and waited for the clone.

Sakura leaned into his shoulder and gave him a small smile, "She's not what you think, Naruto. Just carry me in and see for yourself."

"Fine! If you say so," Naruto ducked inside and shouted loudly, "Is Karin here? We have a patient for you." He gently laid Sakura on the nearest cot that was empty.

There was a loud gasp from the far corner followed by a loud screech, "Fucking hell. Your signature was so faint, I couldn't even tell if you were you," Karin seethed as she pushed Sai and the Naruto clone to the side and checked the kunoichi's vital signs, "What did you do to yourself?"

As Karin double-checked her pupils with a light, Sakura answered with a scratchy whisper, "I'm sorry, Karin. I didn't mean to make you worried."

Karin moved from one bright yellow bruise to a cut on the other arm that was already turning red from a poison or possible infection, "I'm not worried. Do I look worried?"

"No, you looked pissed," added Sai.

Karin glared up at the dark-haired nin who resembled Sasuke, then turned back to Sakura, "You're damn right, I'm pissed. Now everyone shut up and let me concentrate." She pulled up a chair and began to work. Her hands glowed with healing chakra and she went through every wound and nick. She made sure to kill off the infection and hunted for anything out of the ordinary in Sakura's chakra network. Twenty minutes later, Karin sat back and her hands returned to normal.

"Alright, now that that's done," Karin unbuttoned her cuff and began rolling the sleeve upward, "Time for the finishing touch."

Sakura peered at the arm stretched before her and gave a weak smile, "I may look awful, but I'm not dying, Karin."

"Sure about that, Pink? Cause you still look half dead to me." Karin hovered her arm in front of the kunoichi, expecting the patient to dive in.

Sakura patiently explained, "Thank you for helping me this far, Karin-chan. I only need a few days of rest now. The Hokage wants-"

"Fuck the Hokage. You want a full recovery as soon as possible then you know what to do." Karin held her wrist closer and waited.

Sakura winced as she looked at all the bite marks along the redhead's arm. The idea of hurting Karin didn't sit well with her, even if it did mean getting back on her feet in record time.

'Which is why Sasuke recruited her,' reminded her Inner self, 'I bet some of those teeth indentations are his. If he would do anything to carry on the fight, then why can't you.'

'I hate it when you're right,' Sakura wrapped her hands around Karin's arm and brought it to her lips. She chose a clear spot of skin and bit down with determination.

Karin felt the normal pull of her chakra and relaxed, knowing that her patient would soon recover. A few seconds ticked by then her red eyes grew slowly grew bigger with surprise. The tingling warmth in her abdomen that usually tapered off with other patients began to increase in strength.

"Ahhh... ummm," Struggling to keep her composure, Karin could sense her skin flush hotter than it had in a very long time. Her eyes flickered nervously as she realized what Sakura was doing. Just like him, Sakura was hellbent on taking all the chakra she needed as fast as she wanted. That intensity and drive Karin found in Sasuke... that quirk which made his chakra resonated with her own was also in this petite pink-haired goody two shoes.

'Doesn't help that she has the sweetest kisses too,' She crossed her legs and wiggled in her seat as the surge began to gradually build with force, 'Damn it. Not here. Not now!' It was already annoying to have this happen to her in the open during battle where enemies could gawk at her and Sasuke.

Karin bit down on her lower lip in hopes of distracting from the pleasurable waves, 'Picture the most disgusting things imaginable. Come on, think of something else. ANYTHING else'

As her strength returned, Sakura watched in fascination as Karin's breathing grew harder and faster. A theory forming in her mind and she wasn't going to pass up this chance to experiment. Sakura sucked in more chakra and was rewarded with a loud moan from the redhead.

Karin knew she was loosing the battle, but stubborn pride wouldn't let her give up, 'Horrible thoughts! My genin team abandoning me, Kabuto's stupid rat-tail he calls hair, Suigetsu, Orochimaru's annoying lisp, sleeping on freezing cold rock, prison food, Suigetsu, the Legendary Stupid Brothers' farting concerto...'

There was no stopping it. Karin threw her head down on the pillow Sakura's own head rested on right before the orgasm hit her like a sledgehammer on repeat. She bit down the pillow to muffle her voice, "Oh shiii..." Every muscle in her body tightened and flexed while Sakura removed her mouth to hold Karin steady as the redhead trembled.

When the last of the throbbing subsided, Karin lifted her head from the pillow far enough to find herself face to face with a smirking Sakura, "Uh, I can explain."

Sakura licked her lips then whispered to a weary Karin, "Is this what you wanted to tell me about before?"

Udon wandered over from the other side of the tent and pressed a hand to Karin's sweaty brow, "Hmmm, that must have taken a lot of chakra. Look at you. You're spent."

The redhead scowled and slapped his hand away, "Mind your own business, genin. I'm just a little dehydrated."

Konohamaru snapped his fingers at Moegi, who rushed to bring a full pitcher of water and a clean cup.

"Here you go," Moegi poured two cups of water for Sakura and Karin, who pressed her thighs together to hide the damp spot in her blue pants.

Confident that their teammate was safe and on her way to full health, Sai and the clone nodded their good byes then left the tent.

When they were out in the open, Naruto's clone scratched his head in confusion while Sai checked his pack for any supplies that might need replacing.

As he rummaged through his scrolls, Sai casually mentioned, "That was an interesting healing process. Do you supposed other medics experience similar sexual reactions or is it just part of Karin's kekkei genkai?"

The clone's jaw dropped and he slapped himself on the forehead, "So that's what happened! Aw, this is too good to keep bottled up. I have to go back to the original Naruto," The clone covered his mouth to stifle a giggle then disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.

….

AN: So much for keeping New Year resolutions. I gave in last week and fired up my espresso machine. (Sigh) I'm sooo weak! On the plus side, this chap was finished.


	7. Chapter 7

I do not own Naruto nor make any profit from it

AN: And NOW is where the M rating actually comes in to play. This girl on girl lemon was brought to you by Brown Eyed Girls' vid 'Abracadabra' and waaay too much espresso.

Chapter Seven

The sound of feet shuffling back and forth in the first aid tent woke Sakura from a deep sleep. Her eyelids slit open only too see more darkness then she closed them again. Sakura could feel the weariness set all over her sore body and she desperately wanted to go right back to dreaming, but no self-respecting kunoichi could let the noise slide.

She felt so weak and heavy, but her hand managed to raise from underneath the blanket and rub across her eyes. After about a minute, her blurred vision slowly came into focus and Sakura took in the scene around her. When she drifted to sleep not too long ago, the tent was filled with people bustling about and Karin was sitting next her, who also looked a little worse for wear... but for completely different reasons. There was no one else now. It was dark and all the sounds from people drifting about the camp were muted by the tent canvas. Two sets of cots had been stacked high in the middle of the room, creating private space for Sakura. All the other patients were gone and Konohamaru and his crew had left for dinner.

Sakura turned her head toward the far corner where more distinct rustling came from, she saw a single lantern glowing in the dark tent. She automatically whispered, "Who's there?" She tried to push herself up, but a sharp pain shot up her spine and with a whimper, she fell back on the cot. The shuffling stopped then sound of heavy feet came rushing to the side of the make-shift bed.

A hazy vision of a stern Karin appeared above Sakura from the left and placed a cool dry hand on the other girl's forehead, "So now you're awake? Keep still, sleeping beauty, or you'll undo all my work. Tch, you got a low grade fever. Nothing serious though." Sakura felt an arm wrapped underneath Sakura's shoulders and steadied her enough so that she could sit up properly. Then Karin lifted a glass of water to her patient's lips, "Here, have some water. You must be parched."

By the delicious way the lukewarm water felt on her tongue, Sakura realized she certainly was thirsty. So much so, there didn't seem enough room in her throat for all the water her body demanded. She didn't care about the small fit of coughing from too much at once. Sakura used her right hand to grab the cup from Karin and finished off the cup.

"Now, that's a good sign," sneered Karin as she watched Sakura lay back into the pillow and take in heavy breaths from drinking too deeply, "Another treatment, a couple more days of rest, and you should be back to taking names 'n kicking ass like before."

Sakura smiled and lifted her arm to let Karin wrap the cuff of a blood pressure meter around it. As the redhead did a routine check up, Sakura couldn't help but watch the patterns of shadows and the flickering lantern light play along Karin's bright hair and sleek facial features. Sakura marveled at the professional and fastidiousness that Karin put into the care of someone important to her. While she was indeed a pompous wise-ass with a furious temper, Karin moved with such fluid grace in something simple as easing the pain in healing arms. It truly fascinated Sakura how a person ended up in the service of Orochimaru.

'Sasuke-kun had access to this ability and he still threw her away like useless rag doll,' Sakura frowned in disgust, 'He's lost it Completely lost it.'

Inner Sakura scoffed at the idea of Uchiha Sasuke actually appreciating anything of value, 'Some guys don't know what the hell their missing until they've lost it. You should know that by now.'

The real Sakura had to agree. Sasuke was so wrapped in himself, his pain, his jutsu... his damn big brother. Getting anything resembling acknowledgment from Sasuke was like pulling teeth and usually ended up being Naruto's teeth. Thankfully Naruto was a fast healer. In all the time spent growing up together, Naruto always showed his appreciation for her and whoever was lucky enough to earn his friendship. He never took his friends for granted and neither should she.

Determined to show Karin, Sakura sat up properly in her cot and laid a hand over the redhead's, "Karin-chan, I want you to know how much I appreciate what you did for me. You really are amazing. Thank you." She felt the wool blanket fall from her torso, but didn't think anything of it until she noticed Karin having troubled looking her in the eye or even talking in a complete sentence.

Karin's red eyes darted side to side erratically, but kept returning to focus at Sakura, "It's... okay...ahem...my job after all." She reared backwards and wagged a finger in the direction of her patient's torso.

Sakura glanced downward, finding out what made Karin blush and blubber. She had been stripped of her uniform. She wore nothing but underwear and a few fresh bandages wound around her chest. Smiling sheepishly, Sakura pulled the edge of the blanket back to cover up her bosom, "Sorry."

"Not your fault," Karin cleared her throat and pointed to the basket of dirty laundry sitting next to the exit, "You had some nasty road rashes on your ribs so Moegi and I had to get you cleaned up properly before treating them. And your clothes were such a mess. We had to remove them. Unsanitary and whatnot. Shit, I almost forgot." Karin hopped up from her chair and rushed to the other side of the tent.

Sakura paled when blurry memories resurfaced of feeling soft hands roving and pulling along her limbs, "Oh dear, and the others?"

"Don't get your panties in a twist, babe," Karin yelled back, "Your team had already left and we put up a screen to keep the perverts from peeking. Here, you go. A steaming hot bowl of udon. Proper food for a recovering patient." Karin came gliding back with a tray with a covered soup bowl with a small plate of steamed vegetables on the side.

"Mmm, itadakimasu," Sakura nodded her head in thanks and let Karin set the tray on her lap. She lifted the bowl and slurped as much of the noodles that could fit in her mouth. Karin poured tea for the both of them then made herself comfortable on a near by fold-out chair.

Sakura finished of the last of the broth and laid the bowl back on the tray with a satisfied sigh, "That was good. Thanks." She smiled her thanks as Karin stacked up the dishes then carried the tray away to the other side of the stacked cots. Sakura watched Karin's shadow from afar and figured if she was going to get answers, it better be now.

"Karin," Sakura called after the redhead, "Earlier you said that you could explain. I have an idea about what happened, but some details would be nice." The other kunoichi's shadow paused then Sakura saw Karin walk around the corner and set up a folding chair.

"As a rule, most shinobi avoid answering questions about their kekkei genkai, but I did dig myself into that hole," She mused for a few seconds while tapping her fingernails on one knee, "Very well then, as one medic to another, you deserve an explanation. From a purely academic view point, of course."

"Oh absolutely," Sakura quipped in all seriousness and put on her professional medic face.

Karin leaned back in her chair and crossed one leg over the other, "First off, my abilities are genetic. I was born with highly sensitive and regenerative chakra which Orochimaru wanted to study. The uh... result you saw doesn't always happen." She gave Sakura a sheepish smile. "My patients usually are too weak and careful about how much chakra they draw from me to make enough," Karin rolled her eyes upwards to think of the most appropriate word, "Sensation." Then the redhead nervously fidgeted with the black rims of her glasses, "And then it also depends on what I think of the person."

Sakura smirked and she clarified for Karin, "You mean by how much you're attracted to them."

Karin blushed as she looked down at her hands clasped at the top of her crossed legs and couldn't help chuckling, "Well that much is obvious."

Sakura reached forward and gave the redhead a teasing poke in the shoulder, "I've heard of people taking pleasure in their work, but you take the cake." Karin looked back up then a smirk slowly curled on her lips.

"What can I say," Karin drawled as she slipped from the chair to sit on the cot beside her patient and pinned the pink-haired kunoichi with a sultry look, "I know who'll be good in the sack before we hit it."

Suddenly the room temperature rose a few degrees and Sakura squeaked, "Really? W-wow, I'm flattered... cause I was just winging it with drawing your chakra faster... um," The undisguised lust in Karin's eyes made Sakura fiddle and squirm nervously. Without waiting for Sakura to finish her sentence, Karin reached out with one hand and used a few fingers to gently trace the curve of the other's cheek. All it took was that one touch to bring the memories of their kisses in the woods rushing back. Sakura automatically leaned her cheek into Karin's open palm and they gazed into each other's eyes for a tense moment. They leaned toward one another until their lips pressed together in a perfect fit. The kiss started out almost like the first one, tentative and careful, but quickly moved into a feverish pace. Karin's mouth opened wider against her lips and it felt so good to be connected again. Sakura was taken aback at how much she missed Karin and she wanted to make up for lost time. Longing pulled them closer together and pressing their bodies against another.

'This is going beyond kissing, folks,' squealed Inner Sakura while the real one wrapped her arms around Karin's body.

Then Karin switched from the familiar make-out moves and pulled out of the kiss. Sakura was disappointed when Karin's lips moved from her own, but the redhead continued kissing and caressing down Sakura's skin until reaching the crook of her neck. Karin rubbed the tip of her tongue onto each pressure point and Sakura felt a flash of soothing chakra shot into her nerves with uncanny accuracy. Each tiny shock of chakra elicited quick intakes of breath from the pink kunoichi and Karin chuckled softly with pride.

Not satisfied with getting to first base, Karin lifted away from Sakura and brushed the pink hair falling over Sakura's forehead. Her red eyes searched Sakura's own as if mulling over a decision. Biting her lower lip, Karin decided to take the plunge and asked, "Sakura-chan, I want to taste you, make you feel like I did earlier. May I?"

Sakura's mouth dropped open and her heart pounded harder. A tiny part of young fangirl Sakura was hopping mad, insisting that she was straight and only for Sasuke... which was promptly squashed underfoot by Inner Sakura. She was blown away at what she was about Karin wanted to do, but she still lowered the wool blanket from her body, "Yes."

"Don't worry your pretty little head, Pink," Karin lifted up again to murmur her lips against Sakura, "I'll be gentle." The redhead winked as her palms slowly rubbed up and down Sakura's torso. Then Karin dipped to Sakura's clavicle and switched between brushing her long red eyelashes along the skin then kissing her lover's neck.

Sakura closed her eyes and rolled her head back so Karin could pay more attention to her sensitive spots, 'This is going better than I expected. Who knew I could pull off seduction?'

'Wait a minute, you mean we were supposed to do the seducing?" Inner Sakura gaped as she put both hands on her hips, "You could've fooled me!'

'Shut up. We're working here.' Sakura sucked in air though her teeth when Karin's lips traced the bindings covering her breasts. The she let out a surprised yelp when Karin nipped at her nipple through the cloth and Sakura had to push her head further into the pillow to muffle any further responses. Last thing anyone wanted was a passing shinobi to rush into the tent and witnessing two girls going at it.

"Let's get this out of the way," Karin lifted a finger glowing blue and carefully drew the tip along the bindings, which split apart and were brushed aside easily by the other hand. Even with her eyes shut tight, Sakura could sense the chakra that the redhead used. The dangerous edge of Karin's chakra scalpel almost brush against the skin of her clavicle created a such heady mix of excitement and anticipation. It didn't matter how Sakura's chest rose and fell with her deep breaths, Karin had the precision and grace not to let the cutting chakra touch Sakura's porcelain skin.

Karin gazed longingly at Sakura's breasts, then dipped to plant light delicate kisses on the soft round mounds then took the left nipple in her mouth. She relished a small thrill when Sakura instinctively whimpered and arched her back. With her own breathing growing deeper with anticipation, Karin drew open palms over the other girl's perky bosom and brought her fingers together to pinch each hard nipple. She then rubbed her thumbs over the sensitive tips repeatedly.

Admiring the beautiful girl lying before her, all Karin could think was possessing the softness and warmth of the body that was writhing in her hands. The precarious dance of taking a new lover always made Karin so dizzy with lust and power. It was the best feeling in the world, an addiction that she always indulged. The fact that her object of affection was Haruno Sakura, ultimate rival for Sasuke-kun's attention, only made the experience more delicious and satisfying.

Karin skimmed her slim glowing fingertips along Sakura's sides where the red scrapes were and noted their healing progress, "Could use a little help there," she murmured before dipping low and dragging her tongue across the wounds. She left a trail of healing chakra that seeped into the scabs then revealed fresh rosy skin. The sensation of rapidly healing nerves caused shivers to shoot through Sakura's spine, causing her to moan softly. Giving her chakra time to finish healing her patient, Karin waited and pressed her cheek along Sakura's smooth stomach. A minute later she checked the scrapes again and was satisfied. Now Sakura's body could handle the strain. Karin gripped her lover's hips in both hands and pulled them together.

Smiling to herself, Sakura found that she enjoyed the feeling of Karin's thighs against her own. Their legs tangled together felt like a perfect fit. It was an odd, yet lovely feeling. However, she didn't notice that Karin carefully sliced her underwear and the remaining bits of cloth fell onto the cot.

"Uh," squeaked Sakura. She was surprised how her panties were removed easily and reality quickly set in. Suddenly Sakura was overwhelmed with fear and embarrassment. All feet going past the flimsy tent, every shadow passing by, each voice murmuring outside seemed like a potential threat of someone walking in and creating a hugely explosive situation. As Karin shuffled further down the cot, every muscle in the leaf kunoichi's body tensed and froze.

Sensing confusion coming from her lover, Karin lifted from between Sakura's thighs and smoothed her palm along one leg, "What's wrong? Are you having second thoughts?"

'Can't stop now,' whispered Inner Sakura, 'You're already too close.'

Sakura shook her head, "No. I'm okay. Keep going." She closed her eyes tight and forced herself to block out the noises from outside the tent. When Karin returned to kissing her thighs, Sakura was able to loose herself in the waves of sensations coming from the other medic's skilled hands. There was such a mixture of textures to the redhead's methods. Nibbling and biting turned to tender kissing and massaging Sakura's tense muscles then back again. Karin had Sakura shivering at the slightest touch and she hadn't even gotten down to business.

Once Karin was satisfied that Sakura's mind was on her and only her, the redhead used a single finger to part open Sakura's lower folds and was gently replaced the digit with her tongue. She started low then upwards to the clitoris, rewarding her with a loud intake of air from Sakura followed by a quick breathy expletive.

"Hmmm," hummed Karin as she pressed her mouth further into Sakura then lifted up momentarily, "I like that sound. Let's see what else is there." She dipped again and used her tongue to gently move against Sakura's clit, sliding side to side and occasionally lapping against the whole of the vulva. Then she began circling over and over again which brought out more low aching moans. She skillfully and patiently built up friction until Sakura's breaths became shallow and fast, inadvertently mimicking the rhythm that Karin had set.

The redhead slowed down her pace, knowing it was time to bring her lover to the next level. She pulled away momentarily to insert one finger inside the wet opening then searched for Sakura's g-spot. Sakura's voice became louder as she felt Karin's curled fingertip twist and turn along the edges. Soft and careful gasps turned into grunts that grew faster and faster. An out-of-place hitch in Sakura's breathing was Karin's only warning. She was quick to use one hand and a shoulder keep the kunoichi's knees in place.

When Sakura's orgasm hit, she let out a loud cry, her walls clenched repeatedly around the finger while Karin's tongue kept grinding against the swollen clit. Karin waited for her lover's shuddering to ease then she lay her tongue flat against the flush flesh. The vulva felt sweet and warm against her taste buds as Karin drew upwards for a final long lick. That last lap from Karin overwhelmed the already exhausted Sakura, causing her to gasp and fall into a deep sleep.

Karin watched the other kunoichi sleep for a few minutes then got up to the other side of the tent. She set up second cot next to the first one and slipped in as close as possible. Before falling asleep herself, Karin reached over to push errant pink strands from Sakura's face.

"Sleep tight, Pink."


	8. Chapter 8

I do not own Naruto nor make any profit from it.

AN: And now we go a little deeper into Karin... as in her past... Karin's past!

Chapter Eight

The morning arrived far too quickly, but luckily for the exhausted Sakura, Karin could sense the Konohamaru Crew on their way to the first aid station. She was awake, dressed, and putting her bed away, when the three genin wandered inside.

"Good m-", chirped Moegi before Karin interrupted her.

"Shhhh," The redhead medic waved them away from the screen that blocked their view of where Sakura slept, "She needs her rest. Why don't you set up everything outside the tent?"

A surprised Udon glanced at Konohamaru, who merely shrugged and began moving the equipment outside, "Do what the doctor says, I suppose."

"Are you sure about that Karin-san," Moegi tried to peer around the cots, but was quickly stopped by Karin, "Sakura-neesan wouldn't want anyone not to be given proper medical treatment just so she can catch up on her sleep."

"Don't be stupid," Karin spun the young kunoichi around and pushed her out the tent, "The weather is beautiful this morning and we can do just as good a job in the sunshine as in here." Then she gave them a warm and genuine smile which frightened all three genin to their core.

When Karin disappeared into the tent again, Udon looked at the others, "She's so... nice. Why is she being so nice? And that smile on her face," He whispered behind one hand, "It's scaring me."

Konohamaru glared at the tent and wondered aloud, "Yeah, that was weird. Someone should check if she's a clone or some sort of henge. That cannot be Karin of the Akatsuki."

Moegi put both hands on her hips, "What if she isn't of the Akatsuki anymore. Perhaps being around us and Sakura-neesan has changed her for the better," She brightened and quipped, "In fact, you could say she's turned over a new leaf? Huh, huh?"

Udon groaned at his teammate's attempt at a joke and went back to setting up the first aid station.

At the same time, Konohamaru shook his head at her, "That's just sad, Moegi."

Inside the tent, Karin pulled aside the window flap above Sakura's head, letting the sunshine hit the patient full on the face.

"Ugh, wha-?" She automatically blocked the light with one hand over her eyes.

"Good morning, gorgeous," said Karin as she placed a fresh uniform on Sakura's cot, "And how are we feeling today?"

Sakura sat up and rubbed her eyes awake, "Good. Surprisingly good. It's been years since I've felt so much energy but at the same time really..." She hummed to think of the right word.

"Relaxed," finished Karin.

"Yeah."

Karin smiled haughtily, "I'll take credit for that, thank you. Now, let's do a quick look-over then figure out how you'll spend the day." She sat down on the cot then double checked Sakura's wounds and found them mostly healed. Then redhead gently picked up each of Sakura's limbs, rolled them around, and noted the ease of which Sakura moved her muscles.

"Everything's looking good," concluded Karin, "I'd say your fit for a little bit of activity today. What would you like to do first?"

Sakura's stomach rumbled loud enough to startle both girls and she replied happily, "Getting some breakfast would be a nice start."

"Yeah," Karin drawled as she stood up, "I caught that. Get dressed and we'll head out. I'm sure the brats can hold down the fort for a little while."

Sakura and Karin emerged from the tent, after another fifteen minutes. Karin waved as they passed the genin, "Later, kids. We're getting grub."

Udon rushed into their path and held his arms wide, "Wait a minute, you can't just go wandering off!"

"What's the matter, kid," sighed Karin, "You trusted me not to bolt last night."

Moegi bit her lower lip as she rocked back and forth on her toes, "Actually..."

Konohamaru explained, "We wanted some real sleep too. So we had an Aburame set up surveillance around the tent. If you tried escaping, he would have stopped you and notified us."

Green eyes growing big, Sakura felt her throat tighten up and all she could muster was a squeaky, "He?"

"Yeah, not to worry, Sakura-neesan. You know him already. Shino-san kept guard over you last night."

Feeling a little nervous herself, Karin looked at Sakura, who was wringing her hands in worry, "Are we in trouble?"

"I," Sakura glanced around as if expecting the quiet Aburame to appear out of thin air and scare the shit out her like he always did, "Don't know."

Sakura turned back to the genin, "Shino reported nothing out of the ordinary?"

Konohamaru crossed his arms and sniffed, "You know him, the dude only talks when necessary. We asked if you stayed put and he nodded. Then he offered to do guard duty for us again tonight."

Sakura turned beet red and growled, "I bet he did."

Karin gave a short shrug then whispered to Sakura, "Hey, I'm cool with it. As long as he knows how to keep his mouth shut."

Sakura scratched her head in thought, "Shino isn't one to blab unnecessarily. Neither is Hinata, but if Kiba catches wind of this, we'll have a ton of stalkers, including Kiba. Have you ever tried to shake any Inuzuka? Oh wait-"

"Might have," Karin smirked at Sakura's slip of the tongue. Then she shrugged and pulled the pink kunoichi by the arm, "If people are gonna talk, let 'em talk. Right now, we gotta eat."

During their walk through the encampment, Karin played it cool, but the extra hop in her step and the happy twinkle in her red eyes hinted at the excitement about her new conquest. On the flipside, Sakura felt awkward and unsure how to act in public after having sex, especially with another girl.

Sakura glanced repeated at the redhead as she tried to figure out the precarious situation, 'Do I walk closer to her? Should I hold her hand? Would any public display of affection be too much? She is Karin after all.'

As they turned the corner, the two kunoichi came across a familiar silver-haired man in pajamas and on a pair of crutches, making his way along the path toward the mess hall.

"Hey," noted Karin with a nod and grin, "The Copycat is still alive. Impressive!"

Sakura gasped before rushing to his side, "Kaka-sensei? What are you doing here?"

"Ah, Sakura-chan," He smiled as best he could from under all the bandages wrapped around his head and face, "Good to see you. I got dropped off sometime last night and now I'm recovering."

"Then why are you walking around," asked Sakura as she fussed over him, "You should be in bed asleep."

He groaned with pain while rubbing at his bandaged forehead, "I would if I could, but I'm sharing the same tent as Gai."

"Oh," Sakura pursed her lips together and winced in sympathy for the unfortunate man. She swung one of his arms over her shoulder to better support him.

Kakashi's head bowed in frustration, "Oh,' is right. Right after we got here, he declared a race to recovery. Now he has to heal faster than me, take medicine faster than me, even snoring louder when we sleep. That is one contest I must forfeit and since I can't sleep, I figured a good hot meal would be the next best thing."

"Sounds logical to me," Karin moved under the other side of Kakashi to help bolster him and she thumbed in the direction of the mess, "We're headed there as well."

Half carrying Kakashi through the entrance, the three arrived for breakfast with a long line ahead of them. Sakura chose a table and motioned for Kakashi to take a seat, "Don't bother standing in line and strain your injuries. You relax. Tell us what you want and we'll bring you the food."

Her team leader smiled from under his mask of bandages, "You're too sweet, Sakura-chan."

"You have two lovely ladies catering to your whims," Karin gave him a saucy wink as he hobbled to the table, "Every man's dream, huh?"

He laughed and lifted his hands in defense, "I'm not going to go there."

As they waited in the food line, Sakura felt the prickling of many eyes watching her every movement. She glanced at Karin, who merely smiled and waited patiently for her turn to pick up a food tray. The redhead was completely calm. However, Sakura knew right away that something was wrong. From people ducking down when she looked in their direction to the whispers and covert finger pointing at Karin. Sakura wondered if Shino had said something after all or if Ino's gossip had taken a life of it's own and spread through the camp like wildfire. It would be hard to deny any rumors after what happened last night.

'Do you care what they think,' interjected Inner Sakura from the recesses of her mind, 'Are their opinions that important to you?'

Sakura picked up two trays with a sigh, 'No, I suppose not.'

'Look over there,' Inner Sakura directed their attention to Kakashi sitting comfortably at a table, "You value Kaka-sensei's opinion and he hasn't said a thing.'

'Or he's just that good at ignoring the grapevine,' surmised the real Sakura, 'Remember, he has to deal with Gai making a spectacle every time they meet. No one makes a fuss anymore. '

'That's because they're used to it. They can get used to you and Karin too,' concluded Inner Sakura.

Feeling little bit better, Sakura balanced both full trays and smiled at Karin to lead the way back to the table.

"I'll get his milk and coffee," Karin gestured in Kakashi's direction, "You go ahead and sit." Sakura placed the trays in front of Kakashi, who bowed his thanks then really showed his gratitude when Karin handed him a steaming cup of coffee.

When Karin sat next to Sakura and began they began digging in, a shadow came from behind and said, "Ohayou, is this seat taken?" The voice which interrupted their breakfast was instantly recognizable by Karin, but barely to Sakura and Kakashi.

Karin stopped eating and slowly turned on the bench. All of the smartass attitude she normally exuded disappeared in an instant. Standing behind her was a tall jounin kunoichi with smooth pale skin, long dark hair and blunt bangs that barely touched her eyebrows. She addressed the greeting to everyone, but it was obvious that the newcomer's attention was centered entirely on Karin.

"Tsubaki-chan," Karin whispered with a slight reverence in her tone then she quickly recovered by pointed out the empty seat across from her and next to Kakashi, "Please sit."

"Thank you," Tsubaki nodded in greeting to Kakashi as she sat down then began to gush rapidly, "I hope you don't mind me joining you guys. When I heard a rumor that a disreputable kunoichi from the Akatsuki was serving as a medic for Konoha and doing a fantastic job. I knew it had to be you, Karin-chan."

"Didn't think I made that big of a difference, but it's nice to know I'm noticed." Karin paused long enough to drink in the sight of the woman, "It's good to see you again, Tsubaki. You're looking very well."

"You too. Last time we saw each other, prison food wasn't quite agreeing with you." Tsubaki explained to the others, "Poor thing was getting a bit on the thin side. I occasionally brought cookies for her whenever I visited Mizuki-kun."

Absentmindedly fiddling with her food, Karin sneered ever so slightly from the memories, "Your milk and cookies were certainly the highlight of my week."

Kakashi choked and coughed on his orange juice as Sakura fumed and boiled in her seat. Their reactions went unnoticed though. Tsubaki and Karin were content to seat across from each other, preferring to make goo-goo eyes at each other.

"I remember the first time I saw you," said Karin while taking a bite of scrambled eggs, "Visiting your boyfriend each week without fail, walking past catcalling prisoners, and looking every bit as delicious as those treats you brought him."

Tsubaki grinned back at the brazen redhead, "And you were a smooth-talking deviant who fooled both me and Mizuki-kun. Sly minx!"

Karin laughed then she noticed the confused expressions on Kakashi and Sakura. She blushed and said, "See I figured the only way I could get her attention was by flirting with Mizuki in front of her... and damn, did she go off in a jealous rage."

Tsubaki rolled her eyes, "Mizuki-kun was thrilled that two beautiful women were fighting over him. He was quite willing to have his cake and eat it too."

The redhead shook her head while laughing, "Imagine the balls on that guy?"

Tsubaki cleared her throat then imitated a man's voice, "Work it out amongst yourselves, ladies. I'll be in the next room, waiting for the winner or both of you." Then Karin and Tsubaki burst into snickers and giggles.

The question popped out of Sakura's mouth before she could stop it, "So who won?"

"We did," quipped Karin and winked at Tsubaki, "Once his visiting hour was up, the guards had to take him back to his cell. Then I made my move and we got to know each other a lot better."

"Yes," echoed Tsubaki, "We were very good friends for the last few months of Mizuki-kun's sentence."

As the two other kunoichi made small talk from across the table, a seething Sakura crossed her arms and wondered to herself, 'Who is this Mizuki and where do I know that woman from? I've seen her before. Come on, think!'

'I'm working on it! I'm workin' on it,' Inner Sakura shouted as she rushed around in their brain and poured through their memory files, 'There's a lot of shit to go through here! Let's see super hot chick with long dark hair and jounin rank. Damn, that is a long list. Just give me another minute... AHAH!'

Sakura burst into the conversation without thinking, "I remember you now! You're the girlfriend of Mizuki-sensei from our academy. He tried killing me and Naruto years ago, including you."

There was an awkward silence as everyone else at the table looked down and paid extra close attention to their food.

"Y-yes," admitted Tsubaki while trying to keep a smile on her face, "But that was a long time ago. He's been going through rehabilitation and learning new trade-skills since the incident with Orochimaru's curse mark. It's been a long road back for him, but he's doing much better now."

"That's good to hear," said Kakashi, giving the kunoichi a friendly pat on the back, "He may have lost his way back in the day, but everyone deserves a second chance."

"Yes, about that. Karin, I'm sorry I didn't visit you after Mizuki was released but...," Tsubaki bit her lower lip, trying to figure out the best way to say what was on her mind.

"It's okay, Tsubaki-chan," Not making eye contact with the woman, Karin picked through her food and shrugged, "That's life isn't it. People come and go. No sense in getting upset."

Tsubaki couldn't hold it in any longer then spat out her news, "Mizuki proposed to me after he got out."

Karin stopped in mid-bite, "He did?"

"And I accepted," whispered Tsubaki and she searched Karin's face for a response.

"Ahhh, congratulations," Kakashi raised his cup of juice and announced in the most cheerfully way possible to salvage the awkward situation, "A toast to a new marriage and new life after the war."

Sakura was also enthusiastic in toasting the 'Happy Couple', "Can't think of anyone better for you, Tsubaki-san. May you have a long and fruitful marriage."

"Yes, of course," Karin blinked back into reality then grabbed her cup and lifted it in the air for the toast, "Good for you, babe. Waited steadfastly for the shinobi of your dreams then managed to bag him and tag him. Congratulations."

Tsubaki looked relieved and with a sad smile, she nodded to all of them, "Thank you. Mizuki-kun is very much a changed man. He no longer has the ability to be a shinobi, but he learned a new vocation. He's working in the construction crews to help rebuild Konoha and concentrating on creating the perfect wedding for us when I get back. Letters from my family say that he's turned into quite the groomzilla."

Remembering the power-hungry jerk even before he used the forbidden jutsu, Sakura muttered before spearing some honeydew with her fork, "I can believe it." A ruckus of falling pots and pans came from outside the tent that caught everyone's attention.

Then a loud bellow rang out, "Kakashi! Kakashi!"

Said ninja slumped in his seat to hear the bellows of his eternal rival right outside the large tent, "Oh no."

If Gai could come barreling through the tent entrance, he would have. Fortunately, the man had considerable trouble due to the crutches, wrapped in bandages, and one IV drip attaching him to a clumsy stand.

He peered into the large crowd, oblivious to the people staring at him, "I know you're in here. No point in hiding." Then he saw the flash of silver hair as Kakashi tried ducking under the table.

"SO!" To their horror, the Beautiful Green Beast limped and scooted his way to Kakashi's table.

Kakashi sat back up and waved at his comrade in arms, "Hello, Gai. Sleep well?"

"Like a rock, much to my grievous error. What is this?" Gai pointed at the leftovers on Kakashi's tray and shouted angrily, "Consuming nourishment when I sleep and waste away the hours like a lazy bum."

Kakashi waved his hands, "It's not like that, Gai-"

"Very clever, my rival. You may have a jump start, but I refuse to let you keep the lead," Gai rushed to the head of the line, much to the protest of the people he cut in front of, and filled up two trays with twice as much food on each, "For letting myself sleep too much, I will eat four times as you and recover eight times as fast. Take that, Kakashi!"

Giving off a tired sigh, Kakashi scooted from the bench and picked up his crutches, "Here we go. I suppose I better alert our nurse to have plenty of antacid ready."

"Or a stomach pump," mumbled Karin as they watched the food pile higher and higher, "He's going to kill himself eating all that."

"Nope, not Gai-sensei," Sakura smiled at the man's tenacity, "He may be a goof, but he's a tough one to kill."

"If you'll excuse me ladies, it was lovely breakfast but I must take my leave." He started hobbling away.

"We're going with you, Kaka-sensei," Sakura tugged on Karin's sleeve as she stood up from the bench, "It would be our duty to make sure a patient doesn't aggravate his injures returning to his bed."

Karin took Sakura's lead and followed the other two in leaving. She did nod a farewell to her ex, "Good luck with everything, Tsubaki-chan. I mean it." By the time Gai made it to the table with several trays of food, Kakashi, Sakura and Karin were gone, with a desperate Tsubaki rushing through the last of her breakfast.


	9. Chapter 9

I do not own Naruto nor make any money from it

Chapter Nine

After sneaking out of the mess, Kakashi made his way down the beaten path toward his tent with the two young kunoichi. It was slow going, but Sakura and Karin respectfully followed the jounin on either side him. Both medics watched the man carefully to make sure he didn't catch his crutches on in the mud and go tumbling to the ground. Despite his appearance, people nodded their acknowledgments at the highly respected Copy-cat Ninja as they passed by the slow moving trio. While Sakura beamed proudly at her sensei, Karin would get the occasional stare or suspicious glare from random shinobi. Her controversial presence among them didn't help ease the tension of more cloned Zetsu's among them.

As she walked along side her sensei, Sakura acted like her usual cheerful self, but on the inside, she was churning angrily from Karin and Tsubaki's romantic reunion at breakfast. 'Karin was supposed to be crazy about Sasuke-kun and then I find that she was involved with a woman in Konoha. I can't believe she held that back from me. Does she keep a running tab of lovers or something?'

Inner Sakura laughed inside her head, 'Don't be sensitive. So she's been around the block. It's not like you're being completely truthful with her either and I'm not talking about the mission to study her kekkei genkai.' Her inner self reminded with a scolding finger, 'At some point you gotta stop whining and start acting like a grown up. It's time to be honest with her and yourself.'

Sakura sighed, 'I suppose you're right.'

'Of course, I'm right," Inner Sakura primped and flipped her hair like a pink peacock, "I'm you!'

Kakashi's voice broke through her thoughts and brought Sakura back to reality, "Are you alright, Sakura-chan? You seemed far away for a moment there."

A nervous sweat-drop appeared on her forehead as she flashed him a smile, "I'm just fine, Kaka-sensei. A little worried about Naruto, but who isn't these days."

"Ahhh, too true. He has surpassed all of us in so many ways and yet we can't help but fuss over him. Thank you for taking me this far, girls. I'll be fine from this point. You take proper time to recover yourself, Sakura-chan. Make sure she does, Karin." Kakashi nodded once in farewell then hobbled across the path and ducked into his tent.

"You heard the man," commanded Karin as she sneered playfully at Sakura and pointed in the direction of their first aid station, "Back to bed for you."

Sakura had to stifle a giggle and shook her head, "You're terrible." As the two kunoichi strolled along, Sakura fiddled with the little note that rested safely in her pocket. Kakashi had slipped it into her hand as they walked him back. She wondered what he needed to say that couldn't be mentioned in front of Karin. She waited for a moment for Karin to be properly distracted.

That opportunity came in the form of walking past Sabaku Kankuro and a couple of lieutenants from his division. The Puppet Master gave Sakura a nod of recognition before returning back to the diagram he carved in the dirt. Sakura waved at Sai, but noticed the dark-skinned nin with white blond hair as one of the Kumo nin that came to Konoha.

Karin noticed Sakura's hard gaze and turned to check out the guys that made her girlfriend's cheerful demeanor change. "What is it?"

"Nothing," insisted Sakura which only encouraged the redhead to look back at the group. When Karin's attention was entirely on Kankuro and his men, Sakura pulled out her note and quickly read it.

'Trust your feelings no matter the consequences.' Then Sakura stashed the note the second Karin turned her head.

"So what's the deal with them," Karin asked as they continued on their way.

Sakura winced and grumbled, "That Kumo nin with white hair came to Konoha looking for information on Sasuke after the Akatsuki took Killer Bee."

Karin held up an index finger in her defense, "Ah, but it really wasn't Killer Bee... That slippery bastard tricked us."

"We know that now," Sakura closed her eyes as the memories surfaced, "But at that point, they were insistent on gathering as much info as possible, including that guy's teammate punching the daylights out of Naruto. Didn't work though. Naruto didn't tell them anything."

Karin raised her eyebrows in surprise, "You mean, Sunshine stuck up for Sasuke-kun. How about that? From what I remember, he had a talent for pushing Sasuke's buttons as well. Your Naruto has obviously recovered and Kumo seems to be getting along with the Leaf now."

"I know that we're supposed to be on the same side. Forgive and forget," sighed Sakura, "It's just somethings are hard to forget."

"Then don't," insisted Karin as if the concept was the simplest in the world, "I doubt they will. Personally, I would have arranged to have his throat slit in the middle of the night-" She chuckled to see how Sakura was startled so easily by the thought of turning on an ally and drew a palm along Sakura's cheek. "But that's just me. I wouldn't recommend it for you, Pink. You're too sweet for that."

That was when Sakura made up her mind to publicly claim Karin. They were half way back to the tent when she garnered enough courage to sidle closer to the redhead. She brushed the top of her hand against Karin's then gently eased her hand into Karin's palm.

Karin glanced at her from the side and Sakura responded with a simple smile, all the while breaking into a sweat from nervousness. Once she felt the pressure around her own hand, Sakura began breathing again and Karin grinned beside her.

As a little girl, Sakura used to grab Ino's hand without a second thought and they would both run off to play in the meadows. This felt more intimate and far more meaningful. It was a quiet announcement to anyone who might be watching them, namely Tsubaki, that Karin was hers. When they arrived at the first aid tent, the genin were attending to some shinobi returning for their follow up treatments.

"Thank kami," grumbled Udon as he rushed through wrapping up an ankle. He and the others didn't even notice the blushes on Karina and Sakura, "We're starting to get swamped and the day has only begun. Sakura-neesan, Shizune-san came by earlier and asked if you could help her in the surgery tents tomorrow, but only if you feel up to it."

Sakura tested her chakra by activating a healing jutsu. She held up her hands and they slowly glowed green to her satisfaction, "I should be fine. Thank you, Udon. As long as I conserve chakra, I'll give you guys a helping hand."

"You're more than welcome, babe," said Karin and they split up to do their jobs.

As the day wore on, Sakura helped Karin and the genin treat the other shinobi in the open air. Karin, Udon, and Moegi checked the health of any shinobi that came looking for medical attention. Udon did a thorough job of cleaning the wounds. Karin treated each with the usual healing jutsu while Sakura and Moegi wrapped them up in fresh bandages.

It was toward sunset when Karin first felt their presence. "And here is something for the pain," She took out a packet of painkillers and looked the Mist nin in the eye, "Don't squander 'em. We're running low." Her hand paused in mid-air then she turned to look west.

"Hello?" The patient saw the faraway look on the redhead's face and waved a hand in front of her.

She blinked her red eyes several times then returned to her patient, "Uh, sorry. Got distracted for a moment. Here you go. Take three, get rest, call me in the morning and all that crap." And she slapped the packet into his hand.

Her eyes went back to the western front and double-checked the familiar pair of chakra, 'Yup, no doubt about it. It's them and they're on their way here. I wonder what will those idiots do when they get here? No wait, the real question is what will I do when they get here?' Karin took off her glasses and cleaned them as she tried to think.

When she first arrived, it seemed like every single one of these people were doomed to a horrific death. She got to witness the war from the other side. Their camaraderie and insistent will to resist the Akatsuki impressed her to no end. Admittedly, she would be sad to leave them behind. It would be worse to stay and watch them die.

'No,' she corrected herself, 'It would be worse to share their fate.' Then Karin looked over her shoulder to see Sakura cheerfully waving goodbye to another patient, 'Wouldn't it?'

That's when the feeling hit her. It was a gut-wrenching twist in her stomach at the very thought of watching Sakura die at the hands of her Akatsuki colleagues or Sasuke. Not that the bastard didn't already try. Karin squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn't face that kind of future. So she took a deep breath and made up her mind.

"Karin-chan," came Sakura's voice through the redhead's thoughts, "We're going to finish cleaning up. Konohamaru and the others offered to bring us our dinner in exchange. So let's go."

"Dinner in does sound good to me," Karin grinned as she joined Sakura in picking up the boxes of supplies.

Sakura watched Karin as they worked together in cleaning up the outside clinic. She had been planning all day on how to confess properly to the redhead, but she wanted to make sure they had some measure of privacy. The only place they had was the first aid tent. When Konohamaru had whined about having to haul all the stuff back inside the tent, Sakura smoothly offered to do the chore if the three genin brought back dinner for her and Karin. They were only too happy for the exchange.

Sakura waited until the three genin finished setting up their dinner and were gone before she felt comfortable enough to say anything.

"There's something I need to tell you," She looked down at her lap and said, "I have to be truthful about Sasuke-kun and me."

Not catching Sakura's serious tone, Karin kept pouring tea in their cups, "Oh, about what? I know, you gave birth to his love child and secretly hid it somewhere in Konoha?"

Sakura tried to chuckle but it came out in a series of nervous coughs, "Of course not."

Karin poured a cup of oolong tea and handed it to Sakura,"Okay, then. Spill."

Sakura paused to think of the best way to say it, "As much as I've tried to put the past behind me... I still have feelings for Sasuke and I'm not sure what I would do for him in the end." She lowered her gaze causing a curtain of pink hair hid the shame on her face, "After what happened between us last night, I would understand if you're mad at me."

Of course Karin felt the familiar pang of jealousy and a part of her wanted to go on the usual temper tantrum. But she knew what it was like. She had been in that same place, the boy-crazy lost-in-love mindset that defied any sense or logic.

So instead of going into a fit of anger, Karin drew in a long breath and sat her tea down. Then she reached across and used one finger to lift the other kunoichi's chin, "I'm not mad at you, Sakura."

She leaned forward and whispered, "I might think you're a stupid naïve twat, but I'd never let that stop me from kissing you." She watched Sakura's green eyes grow wide at the cutting remark and waited to see whether or not the Leaf kunoichi had a backbone.

It didn't take long for Sakura to realized what the redhead was doing. She held her head high and threw back, "Is it just me or do you get more bitchy when you lie?"

A nasty grin grew on Karin's face as she proudly wrapped Sakura in a hug, "That's the spirit, Pink! Don't take shit from anybody. Before you know it, we'll paint those claws jungle red. Now let's eat. I am starved!" It didn't take long before the two kunoichi polished off the food left for them by the genin.

With a satisfied sigh, Sakura laid her chin on Karin's shoulder and mumbled, "That was sorely needed, but I'm still a little hungry. How about you?"

Karin took a moment to think before suggesting, "I would love some dessert."

"Good idea, although I'm not sure what the kitchen will have on hand," Sakura scooted forward on the cot so she could head outside, "What are you in the mood for?"

Karin smirked mischievously and grabbed Sakura before she could stand up. She swung Sakura back onto the cot and whispered, "Something sweet, tart, and pink."

…..

A mud puddle slogged across the ground, keeping close the edges of the tent or sliding into the shadows. A tiny portion would trickle under tarps and around corners then slip back out. It continued it's quest through the camp, making sure to stay away from any recognizable shinobi from the Mist. Thanks to human nature, ninja from the same country would gather together in their spare time and away from assigned platoons. That made things so much easier for Suigetsu to scout for Karin. He kept his eyes and ears open, but people were on high alert at the moment. The Zetsu clones had done a good job of sowing confusion among the shinobi and it made his job damn difficult. His luck changed when he came across three young Leaf genin strolling down a well-worn path.

The kunoichi with ridiculous pigtails asked her teammates, "Are you sure we shouldn't go double check on Karin-san? I feel terrible that we're not guarding her like we should."

"Nah, it's all good," insisted their dark-haired leader with an extra long scarf, "She's knows better than to try escaping and it's not like we're torturing her. She's got no reason to leave."

"Besides the usual guard," sniffled the third who wore glasses and looked to be in dire need of a tissue, "Sakura-neesan is with her. Karin is definitely not going anywhere."

"I hope you're right," mumbled the girl.

'Sounds like I'm in the right section. Now I gotta find the right tent.' Suigetsu slid from tent to tent, peeking into holes of canvas' until he heard a familiar snooty at the same time snarky voice speak another girl's name.

'This must be the place,' He slipped himself entirely through the slit and began reforming from behind a stack of cots. His top was solid when breathy murmurs and smacking of lips that helped his brain comprehended what he came upon. Suigetsu's eyes went wide as saucers and he was almost too scared to look.

Then he sneered with his razor sharp teeth glinting, 'Ha, 'Almost' don't cut it.'

He slipped along the ground and peered through the thin spaces between cots to catch glimpses of a bare-naked Karin lying on a cot, hovering over an equally unclothed girl with short pink hair and kissing each other passionately.

A little black beetle came wandering along the tent until it sensed a strange amount of chakra seemingly lying on the ground. Curious as to what kind of mud puddle could store chakra, it flew around the edge of Suigetsu's lower half that was still in liquid form.

The beetle cautiously flew back and forth above the water, getting closer each time until making a landing for a snack.

'The FUCK!' Suigetsu jerked back from his leering. He managed not to make a sound from the first sting, but another bite came again and again. Suigetsu had to slap a hand over his mouth before melting as fast as he could then sliding outside. This time Suigetsu threw caution to the wind. He didn't care about avoiding any Mist shinobi. He just had to get out of there. The puddle wiggled and squirmed a quick retreat out of camp then up the mountainside.

Karin broke the kiss and glared into the corner that Suigetsu once hid, 'Serves you right, pervert!'

"Is something wrong," whispered Sakura.

"Just our guard doing his duty," Then Karin dove down and began working on a new hickey on Sakura's porcelain neck.

Once the intruder was a safe distance away, the curious beetle returned to it's master and landed on his finger. It fluttered it's wings to convey nervous feelings.

"Don't worry," muttered Shino from underneath his dark hood, "I think he got the message."

On the mountain precipice high above the Joint Shinobi encampment, Juugo sat on a log with his chin resting on one hand, calmly waiting for his teammate to regain some sanity.

"Holy shit! Holy shit," Suigetsu marched back and forth, swinging his arms around like a madman, "Ho-ly fuck'n SHIT!"

Juugo patiently watched Suigetsu wear a groove into the forest floor, "You've been pacing like that for ten minutes. Did you find Karin or not?"

Suigetsu waved a finger at the camp, "I sure as hell did! She's down there and-and-and about ready to go DOWN on one of the kunoichi! It was serious, man. Two pretty girls alone in a tent, moaning and sighing, kissing and rubbing their naked bodies together. I mean they were all over each other." He stopped his ranting when there wasn't the expected reaction from his teammate, "And you don't seem to be freaked out in the least?"

Juugo glanced to the side as if he was hearing old news, then gave a small shrug, "No, I already knew that Karin was bi-sexual. I thought you did too? It was common knowledge among all the jailers."

"Wha-," Suigetsu huffed and blustered at his lack of observation, "Well, NO! If I had, I would've...," Juugo's voice trailed off as he mumbled that last few words.

Juugo cupped a hand to his ear, "Excuse me, I didn't catch that?"

Suigetsu blushed then blustered angrily, "Bah! Never mind, it's entirely off the subject. We've got a big problem. How are we supposed to help escape Karin when she is having a good time with the enemy? If I were banging that chick with pink hair, who was really hot by the way, I'd be pissed off as hell when some idiot came barging in to the rescue."

Juugo didn't care for the images Suigetsu kept planting in his head. He felt a headache coming on and that's never a good thing, "I suppose we could wait-"

"I don't know, man," interjected Suigetsu as he scratched his shaggy hair, "With the way girls are built, they could go on all night."

"For Karin to come to us," finished Juugo, clenching his jaw in frustration, "Once she senses our chakra, and chances are she already has, Karin will find a way to escape on her own. We just need to be ready when she does."

"Ah, right. Let her do all the work. That makes sense," Suigetsu nodded at his teammate's logic. Then he cleared his throat while slowly melting into a puddle, "Works for me. Sooo... if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna turn in a little early. See you in the morning." Then the glistening puddle slid into the shadows of some trees.

Getting sick and tired of Suigetsu's antics, Juugo turned to look upon the twinkling lights of the shinobi encampment in the valley below then muttered, "Maybe if I turn myself in, I could get a little bit of peace and quiet too."

…..

Inside the first aid tent, Sakura struggled to keep balance on her hands and knees on the cot while Karin explored inside her with one hand and teasing her swollen clit with the other. A loud gasp and heavy moan later, Karin felt Sakura's orgasm surge and squeeze the fingers inside the. The pink kunoichi fell forwards in a sweaty heap and was grateful for Karin's help in turning over properly.

Karin crawled over her girlfriend's sweaty body, proud that she could make such pretty skin flush such a dark red. She bent to catch Sakura's lips as they continued to kiss through the pink kunoichi's cool down. Sakura ran the palms of her hands over Karin's arms then down along the redhead's torso, tickling the skin and relishing the feel of Karin's curves. Never in a million years, did Sakura imagine she would enjoy the breasts of another woman pressing against her own.

As Karin rose from their kiss, Sakura followed after but made sure her lips landed Karin's left breast then sucked on the pink nipple with a gentle pressure.

Karin moaned and leaned a little further down, "You can use your teeth or go harder even."

"Mm-mm," Sakura shook her head while still clinging to the nipple. She let go long enough to circle her blow on the puckered skin, "I want this to last for longer." Then she gave the same treatment to the other breast, all the while rubbing her fingers along the other pink nipple.

Sakura slipped further down the cot until she was underneath Karin's then reached up to part the lower lips with her fingers. She sent a small amount of chakra to the hand as she rubbed them along the edge of Karin's channel. Then she guided Karin's hips lower so that she could draw her tongue along the redhead's clit.

"Push them inside," begged Karin.

Sakura complied, gently pumping the fingers in and out against Karin's tight muscles, all the while flicking her tongue over the sensitive clit.

When she finally felt brave, Sakura lingered along Karin's clit, and teased her girlfriend with a tiny shock of chakra. It induced a hitch and laugh from Karin that gave Sakura permission to do more. Sakura returned to using the whole of her mouth...lips, teeth, and tongue to intensify the sensations. She repeated this again and again, each time increasing the chakra with delicious precision.

Sakura felt another woman's orgasm for the first time as Karin's body clenched and released in a sweet rhythm. She backed off enough to see her girlfriend's reaction then an idea hit her.

Karin had no time to catch her breath when Sakura turned to a thigh then bit down with an intense fierceness. The surge of Sakura's drawing on her chakra made Karin The redhead cried out loud as another orgasm bled into the former, making Karin's whole body jerk and shake uncontrollably. By the time Karin was conscious again, she found herself lying flat face down on the cot and a smug Sakura laying next to her, lightly drawing circles on Karin's back.

This time it was Karin who was limp like a jellyfish with no energy to even flip herself over. Sakura didn't even bother trying to move her girlfriend. She merely draped herself over Karin's back and wiggled into a satisfying cuddle.

As the two kunoichi enjoyed their moment of afterglow, Karin felt a prickle on the back of her neck then the baby hairs stood on their ends. She carefully sat up, pushing Sakura from her back. Then she closed her eyes and tilted her head to one side as if listening intently to war drums from a distance. To her horror, the very specific chakra became crystal clear and it was driving towards them at an increasing rate.

She jumped from the cot, rushed to their clothes lying on the ground, then tossed Sakura her shirt and shorts. All the while Karin muttered under her breath, "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck..."

As she pulled on her shorts and medic apron, Sakura noted at how fast Karin wiggled back into her panties, "What's the matter?"

"Sunshine is on the way."

"Sunshine?" Sakura stopped in the middle of buttoning her top, "It's the middle of the night. What are you talking about?"

Karin pulled the blue uniform shirt down over her head then grabbed her glasses, "Not what, who. Damn it, where did my pants go?"

Then both girls visibly shrunk in stature when they heard a familiar shout closing in on their position.

"SAK-URA-CHAAAAAAN!"

…..

AN: Hmmm, wonder how Naruto will handle this?


	10. Chapter 10

I do not own Naruto nor make any profit from it.

AN: Won't keep you waiting any longer. Enjoy!

Chapter Ten

"Sakura," Uzumaki Naruto barreled between tents and past people all the while yelling at the top of his lungs, "Sakura-chaaan! I know you're in there, Sakura." He stopped in front of the first aid tent and paced in front of the tent like a waiting tiger, occasionally looking around the sides to check for anyone sneaking through the shadows.

"Ah hell," said Shikamaru as he, Ino, and Chouji came running after Naruto's trail only to skid to a halt when they saw the idiot ranting and raving outside Sakura's tent.

Chouji slapped a hand on his forehead and groaned, "Oooh, he's pitching a major shit fit. This can't end good."

"I told you not to say anything to him. He doesn't need this kind of distraction," Shikamaru growled at Ino, who could only stand there and bite her nails to the nub.

"I didn't think he'd react like that," whined Ino.

Shino flickered from his guarding post and appeared next to Team Ten, "This would not be the best time for Naruto to see Sakura."

"Oi, Shino! Why is Uzumaki prowling and growling around that first aid station," To Team Ten's dismay, Kiba, Hinata, and Akamaru came strolling from between tents. Then Kiba stopped, lifted his nose and carefully sniffed the air. A nasty sneer grew on his face and nudged a confused Hinata with one elbow, "Looks like you don't have to worry about competition anymore."

"Someone has to stop him. He's attracting a crowd," muttered Ino. She looked at the circle of people gathering around them, "At least Lee isn't here. That last thing we want is two jealous lunatics creating a mess."

"No such luck, Yamanaka," said Neji as he, Tenten, and Rock Lee emerged from the crowd, "That loudmouth made a huge ruckus on his way through camp and he woke up a lot of people."

"Us included," Kakashi and Gai came limping to the group with a few curious nurses in tow.

Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi came running up to the tent while still in their pajamas.

Konohamaru rubbed his eyes twice with his fists to make sure he wasn't dreaming, "What? What happened? Hey, Naruto-niisan is here."

Udon sniffed and wiped his nose with one sleeve, "But why?"

Shikamaru threw his arms up in defeat, "And it has officially gotten worse! Thanks Ino."

Karin felt all the people gathering because of the shouting jinchurriki for the Nine-tails and more coming to their little tent. With a sweatdrop falling, the redhead warned Sakura, "We better get out there and shut his big mouth before any of more show up."

Sakura wanted to die. The embarrassment of all their friends witnessing this was horrendous. She twisted and turned the bottom of her red shirt as she tried to think a way out, "This was not exactly how I envisioned breaking the news to my friends."

"Doesn't look like we have a choice," Karin lifted the tent flap and waved her girlfriend through, "After you, sweetheart."

They emerged from the first aid tent with Karin wearing the blue shirt like a short tunic, but without her matching uniform pants. She pulled down on the front tails of the shirt to keep as much of her legs covered.

A sneering Kiba cupped a hand to his mouth and yelled, "Killer gams, Karin!"

The redhead frowned and glared in his direction, "Wanna test that theory?" That shut him up fast.

Naruto didn't bother with the redheaded medic. He only had eyes for Sakura as she stood before him and fiddled nervously, "So? Is it true?"

The two kunoichi glanced at one another and blathered randomly. "What's true? No idea what you're talking about. Can't believe every little bit of gossip out there."

Naruto held up a hand, "Don't give me that bullshit. My clone told me you have a new lover! Don't bother hiding it." He pounded a fist into an open palm, "What's his name? Who would dare touch my Sakura-chan? I'll beat his ass into the ground!"

Shocked that the idiot couldn't put two and two together, Karin lifted an eyebrow and put both hands on her hips, "His?" Several snickers started to drift among the onlookers.

"Gai-sensei," A very confused and innocent Rock Lee looked to his mentor for guidance. After Gai whispered an explanation to his student, Lee's mouth dropped to the ground then he bowled backwards in a flood of blood that spurted from his nose.

Further into the crowd, Kankuro's shoulders were shaking from laughter as Omoi shook his head in disbelief at how the great hero Uzumaki was that dense.

"Did your clone say anything about this," Sakura put up air quotes, "New lover of mine?"

Naruto crossed his arms and scratched one temple, "No, wouldn't tell me anything about him. Just kept laughing until he disappeared into my mind. I hate it when they do that to me. It was very uncool."

"Interesting," Kakashi rubbed his chin in amusement, "So on some level, he knows the truth."

"But blocking it at the same time," added Gai, "I guess there's just some things that Naruto must hold on to."

Shino muttered to the others, "This is a highly personal matter and might be very embarrassing for Haruno-san. Perhaps we should break up this gathering."

"Good point, Shino," Kakashi raised his voice and clapped his hands to catch everyone's attention, "Alright all, there's nothing to see here. Time to move on. Get some sleep, people." Team Ten and Eight also shooed away as many onlookers as possible. Those not from Konoha or unfamiliar with the people involved were easily dispersed, but Kankuro and a few others were unmovable.

The Sand puppet-master shook his head and sported a nasty grin, "Hell no, I'm not going anywhere. This is the best entertainment to hit the camp in forever."

"Hey look, everyone else is going to bed," Sakura cupped a hand to her mouth and whispered loudly, "It's awfully late, Naruto. Perhaps we can continue this conversation in the morning."

But he ignored her and continued to rant, "I'm too wound up to sleep. I need to know the truth. I had been hearing stuff through the grapevine then Yamanaka confirmed it..."

"Ino-chan," mumbled Sakura and she gave her best friend the evil eye. Ino smiled and tried to give Sakura a friendly hug, but was met with a threatening fist. The blond gulped then ran to hide behind Chouji.

"Now there's someone else besides Sasuke who I have to fight for Sakura's heart. Like I don't have enough bad guys to pummel. I'm on a tight schedule as is and now I have to deal with some jackass stepping on my territory. Tell the jerk to get his ass over here. I demand to see him," Naruto peered over Karin's head and shouted, "Alright, get out here already! Only a coward hides behind girls!"

Tired of being talked over and ignored, Karin threw both arms up and yelled, "It's me, you numbskull! I am the one dating Sakura."

All eyes turned on Sakura for confirmation. She let out a tired sigh, smiled, and shrugged. "It's true," She wrapped a loving arm around Karin's waist, "We're together."

There was a collective gasp from those not in the know then everyone stared at Uzumaki as his brain tried assimilating the information. For a minute, Naruto couldn't say a word. His left eye twitched as his finger swung back and forth from Karin to Sakura then returning to Karin.

Karin stepped into Naruto's personal space until she was nose to nose with him and made him rear back, "Is there a problem?" She held her ground and gave him her best evil eye that had most prisoners fearing for their lives.

He drew himself to his full height and frowned deeply, "I have only one thing to say!"

Sakura had an idea where that statement would lead and tried to warn Karin, "Don't..."

But Karin fell for the bait. She narrowed her red eyes and ventured, "And that would be?"

Naruto fell to his knees and begged, "Can I watch?"

Hinata squeaked in shock and despair. Then she ran away from her worst nightmare, sobbing her poor eyes out. Shino's head dropped forward and he sighed deeply from underneath his hood, "He just couldn't keep it to himself." Then Shino followed after his teammate to make sure she didn't do anything drastic.

"BAKAAA! You hurt Hinata-chan's feelings!" Pissed off yet again at her teammate's stupidity, Sakura grabbed Naruto by the collar then hit him with a sucker punch. He went flying backwards as blood and spit trickled after him.

"Karin," Sakura jerked her head towards Naruto.

Reading her girlfriend's mind, Karin flickered to the other side and caught him in the stomach with a power kick, sending Naruto back into Sakura's waiting fist which sent him flying again.

Kiba calmly scratched Akamaru behind the ear as he and everyone's heads followed Uzumaki's form flying back and forth through the air several times, "Ping Pong Naruto. I can get into this."

Sakura was the one who caught Naruto by the shirt collar and shook him like a rag doll as she always did when highly irritated with her teammate, "Had enough?"

"Hai," Naruto tried to nod through the pain.

She turned him around to face everyone else, "Now you've got a lot of apologizing to do. Starting with Karin-chan."

"I am very sorry if I offended you, Karin and you too, Sakura," Naruto mumbled through a fat lip. His eyes were still swollen shut so Naruto didn't notice Hinata's cautious return, "If you need any volunteers for sperm donors, I'd be happy to oblige."

Hinata burst into tears again then ran back for her tent. There was a collective groan from everyone as Shino tapped Kiba on the shoulder, "Tag."

"Yeah, yeah," Kiba slogged after Hinata with Akamaru in tow.

Sai picked up Naruto and slung the bruised shinobi over one shoulder, "I should go see if any of the medics have spare time for Naruto. But chances are, he'll be back to normal tomorrow. Rest well, everyone. Another day of war ahead of us." He lifted one hand in farewell as he walked away with his teammate.

"And on that note we will end the evening," Sakura nervously rocked back and forth on her toes as her comrades stood where they were, "I bid you a good night?"

Karin rolled her red eyes then stuck out her thumb, "Meaning show's over. Fuck Off already."

Tenten chuckled as she stood beside Neji, "She's forceful. I like her." That final demand got the rest of them to wish the kunoichi well and leave for the night.

Karin drew back the tent flap for Sakura, "Shall we?"

"Thank you," said Sakura cheerfully as she ducked into the first aid tent. They cleaned the tent properly and readied for bed. This time they were a lot less nervous about keeping their voices down, now that their relationship was no longer a secret.

With Sakura lying on her side and Karin behind her, the two kunoichi snuggled together on a single cot and they enjoyed the quiet until Sakura piped up.

"Can I ask you question?"

"Fire away."

Sakura turned over to face Karin, "Earlier, you called Naruto 'Sunshine'. Twice, I think. Why?"

Karin grinned at what should be the simplest thing anyone who ever met the guy should know, "It's his chakra. He has a warm and infectious feeling that gives off good vibes."

"Like sunshine," finished Sakura, "Okay, I get it now. I find it surprising that you would find his chakra in such a positive light."

Karin hummed then laid back on the pillow, "Oh I found the biijou chakra too. I had to dig deep down, but it's there. Nasty piece of work that Nine-Tails, but from what I understand about jinchurriki, they usually don't have a choice about the matter."

"No," Sakura looked down and murmured sadly, "Unfortunately, they don't."

"Hey, don't bother getting weepy over it," Karin lifted Sakura's chin with a finger, "He is a lucky guy to have you for a friend... despite you beating the crap out of him."

Sakura laughed and waved a hand, "Bah, happens all the time. He bounces back fast."

Karin chuckled with her, "I bet he does. You know the idiot did have a point earlier."

"A threesome with Naruto? Are you nuts?"

"Not that," said Karin then she blushed slightly, "I mean about a...sperm donor. If in the future, we might want some kids. So we'll need help in that department."

"Oh," Sakura slowly sat up, surprised at the very thought of starting a family with Karin, "OH! I never thought that far ahead really."

Karin nodded and rested her chin on one hand, "Yeah, same here. Life of a shinobi is usually short, but should we get to that phase, who would you suggest? Aside from...you know, him." They shared an unspoken understanding that while Sasuke would always be tops on their list, chances of his survival through the war was slim.

Sakura winced as alternates' names and faces scrolled through her mind.

Inner Sakura was already rolling out a long checklist, 'Hey, There's Neji. Nope, Tenten would freak. Kiba? He's unattached and plenty of energy to keep up with a kid. Shino? He's pretty patient. Sai? Er, forget I said Sai. Mind you, Haruno and Nara would come up with one wicked smart kid.'

Sakura ventured, "There's Shika or Chouji. They're both future heads of their clans and fairly nice guys. They would make great fathers."

Karin thought about it then shook her head, "Nah, clan heirs need clear cut marriages. We would complicate things."

"Well," Sakura tapped her bottom lip, "What about Rock Lee? He's nice, good with kids, lots of stamina, no clan to keep happy, and zero fangirls to scare off."

"You talkin' about the guy who nearly bled to death outside our tent."

Sakura giggled, "The one and same."

Karin squinted one red eye. She wasn't too sure about the bowl-cut, but hair is hair. It could be changed. She shrugged, "I dunno. He'll have to grow on me."

"He tends to do that," said Sakura happily.

…..

The sun had yet to peak over the mountains when Sakura woke up from only a few hours of rest. Tried as she might, she couldn't get back to sleep. There was a latent energy that made her feel excited for the new day. She decided to stop fighting it and listened in contentment to Karin sleep. The steady breaths and rhythmic rising of Karin's bosom fascinated Sakura as she lay next to the redhead.

On a whim, Sakura reached out to push the red strands from Karin's face. She followed the locks and continued to brush her fingers through the bright red hair splayed across the pillow.

Karin's red eyes cracked open, combed her own hand through Sakura's pink hair, then drew their lips together for a sweet morning kiss.

When they broke apart, Sakura grinned and pulled her girlfriend up from the cot, "Another beautiful day. We should get moving."

"Ugh," Karin grumbled as she shook the cobwebs from her head then sniffed the shirt she slept in, "How about we move in the direction of a shower?"

Sakura had already gathered towels and toiletries for each, "Already ahead of you. We need to hurry. The showers fill up fast."

When they reached the nearest set of showers, the two kunoichi peered down the makeshift hallway of curtained stalls and didn't see any available.

Sakura crossed her arms in a huff, "Damn. Only daybreak and still left in the dust." They heard a shower turn off and a towel disappear from a bar.

"You can go first," offered Sakura.

Karin sneered at her girlfriend's wasted chivalry, "You kidding?"

The curtain was drawn and an Iwa kunoichi stepped out. When she reached the end of the hall, she nodded an acknowledgment to the waiting girls and kept on walking. Karin grabbed Sakura by the wrist and dragged her into the only open stall. They stripped and stored their clothing in the bag along with their towels. Then they stashed the bag into the corner farthest from the shower head.

Sakura turned the spigot, quickly skipping out of the way from the freezing water, then stretching her hand in the stream until the temperature was tolerable. "That's as good as it'll get."

Sakura drew Karin with her into the stream of water, causing the red head to gasp from the cold droplets hitting bare skin.

"Why you little sneak," hissed Karin, but was shushed by Sakura as she pointed out the many people still occupying the stalls nearby.

They took turns dipping their heads into the shower and scrubbing the soap across their necks, then sliding the bubbling suds down the curves of their bodies. Facing the redhead, Sakura took the opportunity to run her hands along Karin's shoulders then down her ribs, soft hips, then up again to caress underneath Karin's bosom.

As her fingers trailed around and over Karin's breasts, Sakura watched Karin relish the feeling of her lover's touch and the excitement in her red eyes. Then she added the chakra to her fingertips which made Karin's lids grow heavy with lust. Sakura manipulated her chakra with more finesse and confidence than before. The last time they made love, Sakura noted the sensitive spots that made the redhead react and she decided to test every single one of them now... between her breasts, up and down the spine, the small of her back, even her bellybutton. As her nails scratched along Karin's skin, her other hand smoothed over the marks with soothing healing chakra. An amazing sensation that made Karin weak in the knees.

Then Sakura swung Karin around to make sure the redhead was in the water. She slowly kissed Karin's body all the way down until on one knee and slipped her fingers past Karin's vulva. Sakura opened the outter lips, slid her tongue between, and tickled the bundle of nerves that was already swollen.

The sensations of running water over her tingling nipples and Sakura's tongue swirling between her legs were pure deliciousness. When Sakura added a finger which prodded and curled against her walls, Karin had to bite on a finger to keep her voice from getting too loud. Luckily the showers were loud enough to cover her accidental moans. Spurred by Sakura's hand, mouth, and the excitement of being caught, Karin found herself having an intense orgasm underneath a shower of cold water.

Sakura caught the redhead before she collapsed to the floor, "Whoops, can't have you passed out around here. People will talk."

Karin replied, "Like I give a flying fuck."

"You mean a wet one," corrected Sakura. The two burst into snickers which caught the attention of whoever just passed by them.

They covered their mouths with both hands and held their breath. The kunoichi prayed that whoever heard them kept on walking. Instead, the person turned around.

The footsteps stopped in front of their stall and a stern voice from Sakura's past pierced the flimsy curtain, "Haruno Sakura?" It was her old Ikebana sensei from the academy days.

Sakura poked her head from behind the curtain and trilled, "Ohayo, Suzume-san." The woman hadn't changed a bit, straight-laced and serious.

"You know the rules, Haruno," Light glinted off Suzume's glasses as she glowered at Sakura, "There better not be someone in there with you."

Sakura felt a bead of sweat form on her brow, "No, ma'am. There's no guy in here with me."

Suzume narrowed her eyes at the girl, "Alright carry on, but hurry. This is war, not a resort. It's important to conserve our resources."

"Yes, ma'am." Sakura pulled her head back inside and they waited for the footsteps to fade away, "That was close."

"And fun. Let's see if we can tempt fate again," Licking her lips, Karin pulled her wet hair back and twisted it into an impromptu bun. Then she embraced the pink-haired kunoichi from behind and her hands began roaming over Sakura's body.

Closing her eyes in pleasure, Sakura felt her heartbeat thump faster as Karin's soft lips brush against the pulse points of her neck.

Karin reached around Sakura's mid-section. She began cupping and massaging Sakura's nipples, increasing the pressure each time until her ministrations bordered on pain, but the pink-haired kunoichi only whimpered for more.

The soft scent of soap was followed by the taste of fresh clean skin as her lips trailed along her lover's neck. Sakura leaned her head backwards on Karin's shoulder to kiss the redhead, who complied. Their hunger grew as their kiss became longer and stronger.

Karin's left hand fondled Sakura's breast while the other hand roamed between the pink-haired kunoichi's thighs, rubbing the sensitive clit. Adding her own chakra to her hands, Karin intensified the friction, circling the clitoris faster and twisting the pink nipple faster until she felt Sakura's body shudder in her arms. Karin held the limp Sakura until she was able to stand on her own. Satiated and happy, they made sure to rinse every part of their bodies once more before getting properly dressed.

"Wait," whispered Karin and blocked Sakura from leaving the stall, "Someone's coming."

Sakura carefully peered out the curtain then reared backwards when she recognized Kankuro walking down the hall. He looked around for a free stall then stepped into the shower across from them. She looked at Karin and slowly counted down the seconds. The sound of a squeaky water spigot told them that the Sand nin was preoccupied.

Sakura nodded that it was safe. They tiptoed past the stall, where they heard Kankuro humming and gurgling under the water, then took off running for freedom. That was where they slammed into someone also running at top speed for an early morning shower.

"OOF!"

Sakura reached down to help the person up. "Sorry Lee, we didn't mean to bump you."

"Good morning," Lee glanced between them then at the one free stall, "Uh, Sakura-san, Karin-san, were you two sharing a shower?"

Sakura blushed and stuttered at being caught, "M-maybe." The two kunoichi shared a glance then burst into a fit of giggles. While they continued laughing, Sakura wrapped an arm around Karin's elbow and pulled her away. She knew they had to get out of there before they got into more trouble.

As she was dragged away, Karin looked Lee in the eye and held a finger to her lips, "Shhhh."

Lee cocked his head to one side in confusion then shrugged it off. He walked inside the hall and was about to enter the free shower before the pervy side of his brain caught up. His eyes popped open and he fell in a fountain of blood just as Kankuro came out of his stall.

"The fuck, man?! I just got out of the shower!"

….

Sakura spent most of the day in the surgery tents, running from one patient to the next, from administering poison antidotes to rushing organs for a dying shinobi. She didn't even have time to sit down for a proper lunch or dinner which made Karin worry.

The redhead paced in front of the first aid tent, waiting for some sign of Sakura coming out of the biggest tent in camp.

Konohamaru watched the kunoichi "You did a good job today, Karin-san. You can go for a walk if you want. We can handle these for now."

"A walk? By myself," Karin gaped and laid a hand on her chest, "Are you saying that you trust me?"

Konohamaru blushed then shook a finger at her, "Course not, just don't be gone too long or bad things will happen."

Karin shook her head in laughter as she walked away from the genin.

Once the redhead was outside, Udon asked Konohamaru, "What bad things will happen if she doesn't come back?"

"Like Sakura-neesan getting mad then tearing the place apart looking for her girlfriend," said Konohamaru with a shudder, "And that's a really bad kind of bad."

Karin knew that the genin assumed that she would be looking for Sakura. That would have to be later. There was something more important to take care of. She turned to the opposite direction of the surgery tents and headed for the mountainside.

As she strolled through the trees, Karin searched for any chakra around her then headed right for her Taka teammates. Suigetsu was the first to slide out from underneath a bush and after checking that she was alone, he signaled toward a grouping of trees. Juugo came out of hiding and trudged through the brush to meet them.

Juugo's eyes looked over Karin's blue uniform and asked, "You ready to go?"

She glanced at the ground then cleared her throat, "No, not really."

"What's the matter? Couldn't convince your girlfriend to run away with you?" Suigetsu snickered at the scowl on the redhead's face.

Karin narrowed her red eyes and hissed, "Fuck you, Suigetsu."

He grinned wide for his sharpened teeth to glint then wiggled his eyebrows, "Maybe next time and be sure to bring that sweet pink chick."

Karin grabbed Suigetsu by his cloak and growled in his face, "Couldn't you be polite for once in your life, Suigetsu? I'm trying to be serious."

Juugo was reaching the limit of his patience with their constant bickering. He really missed Sasuke's calming presence. A hint of bloodthirst tainted his voice when Juugo snapped at his teammate, "Shut your mouth for one minute, Suigetsu." Juugo backed up. He squeezed his eyes shut and after a few seconds, regained control over the violent nature fighting to get out.

Suigetsu became quiet under the other two's scrutiny then he shrugged, "Fine."

Juugo looked at the redhead, "Go ahead, Karin."

She took a moment to think before properly explaining herself to the two dunderheads, "Do you remember when Sasuke personally came to recruit each of us?"

They nodded.

"We had no leader, no long standing orders, nothing to give us any direction to get ourselves out of the hellholes where we were forgotten."

They glanced at each other then around at the scenery so they wouldn't have to look Karin in the eye.

"Sasuke gave us a purpose and a will to survive." Karin glanced back at the encampment where Sakura was working hard to save her comrades, "I have a new purpose."

Suigetsu furrowed his brow and followed Karin's gaze. He wondered what was it about the damn Leaf that changed people. "You sure about that?"

Karin sneered and flipped her long red hair with one hand, "At least for now. It's not like I'm staying with these losers forever."

"Nice try, Karin." Juugo gave the kunoichi a sad smile and began walking away, "But you're still a terrible liar."

Suigetsu ruffled the kunoichi's hair despite her protests, "At least we'll know where to find you, if we need you."

Juugo and Suigetsu left Karin behind with her 'Watching' them until she was sure they were at a safe distance.

Sighing in relief, Karin walked to the front of a tree that stood along the cliff. She sat down and made herself comfortable at the base of the trunk, "You know, the view is better from here, Hatake-san."

Completely recovered and decked out in full uniform, Kakashi walked out from behind the tree and stood next a relaxed Karin. "You really are good. Did you mean everything you said?"

"I don't like having to repeat myself, but yes. Mission accomplished, Hatake-san. I'm not going anywhere. Konoha has got me hooked."

A sweat-drop appeared behind Kakashi's head as he smoothly lied, "What mission?"

Karin raised a knowing eyebrow then shrugged, "I suppose we're beyond that now." She looked down at the panoramic view of shinobi from the major five nations and the samurai to boot... all of them working together for the greater good.

Taking in the awesome view, she breathed, "It is a beautiful sight from here."

Kakashi and Karin watch the sunset in quiet companionable silence until they noticed a certain pink-haired kunoichi, duck out of a large surgery tent. She pulled off her surgical mask and took in a breath of fresh air. They watched as she turned and strolled down the path to the edge of camp. She stopped at the beginning of the worn path with a slight look of worry in her stance.

Karin smiled as she watched Sakura rock back and forth on her toes.

"Hey," Kakashi pointed at the redhead, "That has to be the first time I've seen you with a real smile."

Karin's cheeks tinted pink before she turned her head away, "I smile."

"Mmmm, actually you sneer, smirk, or any expression that does the 'Bad ass bitch' attitude, but that there was an honest and," Kakashi chuckled, "Dare I say, a very sunny smile."

She adjusted her glasses and grumbled, "You talk too much."

"Like I've never been accused of that before," he replied sarcastically, "Anyways, we should go. She's waiting for you."

They stood from the log and dusted off their clothes. The two shinobi wandered their way down from the wooded precipice and as they drew closer to Sakura, the world got to see Karin's rare sunny smile again.

….

AN: And here is where I'll let your imagination take over. This story was only meant to last three maybe four chaps so I'm genuinely surprised it grew twice as long. If you're interested, there's a little sum-somethin' for the end of chapter nine. Now it's time for me to switch to For The Pleasure of Her Company.


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